With Patrick Hoban’s double and breaking, the deadlock that the visiting Bit O’ Red displayed today in Oriel Park. The Lilywhites are back in the winning column and within striking distance of Cork City by just a point.
Still in today’s match, it did not come easy for the De Town Boys who had to fight back against a visiting and hardened Rovers squad battling for everything to net a win and upset at Dundalk.
As the locals opened the score in the 23 minute via a a penalty when Dylan Connolly was brought down the area by Sligo midfielder Patrick McClean, leaving the stage set for Hoban to score his tenth goal of the campaign.
As the first half coming near its end its when the visitors took advantage of a play inside the area and responding to a beneficial play that became a penal in their favor when Rhys McCabe converted to send the match in a deadlock at one goal even.
After Dundalk Gary Rogers taking down Caolan McAleer inside the area, gave way to the play that saw a sort of revival for the Bit O’ Red and with a promising second half for both squads as the match had all the elements of a contested affair.
With the second half under way and both squads battling it out and a determined Sligo squad looking to deliver, I give kudos to their defensive backfield that really stepped up and stop the locals momentum and shutting down their scoring opportunities.
For Gerard Lyttle the visitors manager setting his sights with a defensive minded 5-4-1 formation, sending a lone striker in Gregory Moorhouse to do the damage. The locals manager Stephen Kenny’s with a more conservative but a sort of more offensive 4-2-3-1 formation with just Patrick Hoban in the attack.
At the end the locals Boss overcome the battle of strategies despite the dominance his Lilywhites put on the rest of the match and with various wasted opportunities, this is something of a concern for Kenny and company.
However this match belonged to hard pushing Dundalk Boys as well the substitutions worked wonderfully for manager Kenny when he sent Dane Massey for Stephen Folan 56, Marco Tagbajumi for Chris Shields 79 and Jamie McGrath for Ronan Murray in the 66.
At the end, the locals are becoming a force not to mess with at home and in the 88 minute, it is when opportunity knocked for the locals when the match hero Patrick Hoban delivered the game winner.
A win is a win and for the Lilywhites netting three points of gold and now looking forward to a couple of days rest till their Monday matchup against Derry City in Brandywell, as the Candystripes are hungry for points after back to back draws.
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