O’DONNELL SAVOURS A SPECIAL NIGHT
Dundalk head coach Stephen O’Donnell did his best to describe the emotions he felt in the final five minutes of stoppage time against Cork City at Oriel Park.
One-nil down, Dundalk equalised through Cameron Elliott in the 94th minute before captain Patrick Hoban sent the old ground into overdrive when he slipped home the winner three minutes later.
The victory was Dundalk’s fourth on the spin and O’Donnell said it was one of the most memorable nights he had ever witnessed on the Carrick Road.
You can read his post-match quotes below.
No lost causes…
“As I said to the players there, it’s one of the best feelings you’ll ever have. I never thought it was a lost cause even when we were approaching the 90th minute. The second half never really got going and there were so many stoppages so I thought there’d be a lot of injury time and I thought we would get one really good chance.”
On Cameron Elliott…
“I thought Cami was very sharp. He deserves that after a tough period. He’s been out for a good while with an injury but he’s a good specimen and I thought he was very good when he came on. It was a great finish, that’s what he is, he’s so sharp in the box.”
Patrick Hoban wheels away in celebration after scoring the winner against Cork City. Photo by Morgan Treacy/inPho
On Patrick Hoban’s winner…
“He took half a second, like really good strikers do, to compose himself after he took the touch. He didn’t trash at it, he didn’t rush it. He took that extra half a second and let the ball drop and it was a great finish. It was a brilliant, brilliant feeling when it hit the net.”
On the scenes of jubilation…
“To be honest with you, that feeling is up there with any feeling I’ve had with Dundalk, as a player or coach. It just shows you what football can bring and what it can do to you. It brings you on these journeys and these rides so long may that continue. It’s when you feel most alive; when you’re on the edge, and you don’t get another feeling like that in life.”
On the performance…
“By giving them a goal, I always felt that would allow them to retreat into a back five and we were a little bit unorganised. The second half was very stop, start, with a lot of injuries and stoppages but what I liked about it is we kept plugging away and we found a way and that’ll give the players huge belief. You can’t underestimate what that does for a group of players.”
On Monday’s trip to Derry….
“It’s very important we recover and rehydrate because the Brandywell will be on us before we know it. It’ll be a tough game so we’ll be in over the weekend and we’ll get focused and ready for Monday night.”
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