26th August
What can one say after this game. Dundalk played well in patches and should have easily won this game. Withnell returned and missed a hatful of chances. Crawley was sent off for something obscure. The referee was a complete plonker and Sligo scored two breakaway goals.
Well, Withnell played for Dundalk and Brian Byrne was still out injured. Lee Thew started and Chris Hammon dropped to the bench alongside Paudie Gollogly and the also suprisingly dropped Shane Reddish. Dundalk started very well with Withnell making runs to terrorise the Sligo defence. Dundalk nearly scored a great goal midway during the half when after a long run by Hoey his cross met Withnell whose diving header amazingly hit the crossbar. It wasn't to be the last Withnell chance.Before half time he wrestled the ball off two Sligo defenders rounded the keeper but shot over from an angle. Thew and Melvin were active in Dundalk's half but neither had a telling shot during the match while Ray Campbell was in inspiring form on the right wing jinking past Sligo defenders on several occasions. Sligo had no real chances in the half of note. Dundalk also came close before half time when Doohan's header when a corner from Crawley was scrambled away by Boswell
Peter Withnell is amazingly fit and was alaways first to the ball but Peter still cannot find the net and is erratic in front of goal. Five minutes into the second half disaster started to strike. On the break a long ball left Marcus Hallows on his own in the Dundalk half he raced goalwards an emphatically put it past Steve Williams to make it 1-0. Soon after it was two. Hallows again was left clear and his shot was brilliantly saved by Williams but when the ball went up in the air it was volleyed into the net by Conor O Grady. Sligo could not believe it. Two shots, two goals and they should have been 3-0 down. Then it went form worse to worse than that. The ball went out for a Dundalk throw. David Crawley ran to get it. Then the linesman started flagging and after a chat with the ref he gave Crawley a yellow card. Crawley had been booked earlier so off he went. Maybe it was for an off the ball incident or something he said but all in all it was a crazy sending off. Sligo players were living on thin ice with some dubious tackles especially from centre half Jim Sheridan who should not have been on the pitch at the end. Lee Thew and an impressive David Ward each had long shots which went close but the shellshock of two quick goals and a strange sending off had killed off Dundalk's chances. Withnell came agonisingly close on 71 minutes when his shot shaved the post. But there was more drama to come. He outpaced a Sligo defender to a ball and touched it to far ahead of him . The Sligo defender tugged him back and when Withnell got away from him he ploughed into the next defender Sheridan while still having the ball. A melee ensued on the ground with Sheridan and Withnell clearly throwing punches at each other. Both escaped with yellow cards while Reid who pulled Withnell back got away scot free. Amzingly a free kick to Sligo was awarded. The referee made some appaling decisions after this and it became farcical when during an argument with McNulty over the position of a ball for a free kick he kicked it off the pitch.
In conclusion Dundalk were better than Sligo and two lapses of concentration cost them. Also apparent were Withnell's inability to score and of course the ref. But why no substitutions. Five subs and none used including Hammon. Surely when you are 2-0 down something must be done. It was the same last season.
To make it simple. David Ward. He showed a good first touch and looked sharp and while personally before the match I thought Hammon should have played I have changed my opinion and Ward should start against Pats next week