MATCH PREVIEW: DUNDALK V TREATY UNITED
Ciarán Kilduff says Dundalk and Treaty United have “the same goal” of being part of a “booming” Premier Division next year, and he expects a “proper test” when the top two in the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division face off at Oriel Park on Friday night (kick-off 7.45pm).
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Dundalk have had the perfect start to what is hoped will be a strong promotion push as they look to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking, with three straight 1-0 wins to begin the season against Athlone Town, Finn Harps and Kerry.
The Lilywhites return home after a three-week break away from Oriel. On that opening day, a first-half header from 16-year-old defender Vinnie Leonard was enough for them to see off Athlone, in a game where the hosts could easily have scored at least three goals.
Kilduff’s side then faced back-to-back away games, with 18-year-old left-back Seán Keogh curling in a wonderful second-minute free-kick to seal victory over Finn Harps in Donegal, before experienced striker Dean Ebbe scored his first league goal for the club in last week’s win in Mounthawk Park.
28 February 2025; Leo Gaxha of Dundalk in action during the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division match between Kerry and Dundalk at Mounthawk Park in Kerry. Photo by Peter Minogue.
That was a game where Dundalk attacker Leo Gaxha was shown a straight red card in the 36th minute against his hometown club after catching Niall Brookwell with a boot in the face, and for that he has received a two-game ban, meaning he will also miss next week’s trip to Bray.
Treaty, meanwhile, moved up to second place last week with a 3-1 home win over Finn Harps, a match which their manager Tommy Barrett felt they were “lucky” to win. Clare-born midfielder Lee Devitt’s 75th-minute penalty was his fifth goal of the campaign already and gave them a 2-1 lead, with David Tarmey adding another ten minutes later.
The Limerick side had opened their season against Cobh Ramblers at the Markets Field, where they led 2-0 with ten minutes remaining before a late collapse saw them stunned with a 3-2 defeat.
They bounced back impressively from that with a 5-0 win in Athlone, before backing that up with last week’s victory over Harps, and the manner of those results means that they will leapfrog Dundalk – who currently enjoy a three-point lead at the summit – and most likely move to the top of the table on goal difference if they win in Louth on Friday.
This will be the very first meeting of the clubs at Oriel Park and the first-ever league clash, too. They previously met in the first round of the FAI Cup in July 2021 on Shannonside, in what was a gruelling tie that was eventually settled by Patrick McEleney’s 104th-minute goal.
21 February 2025; Ciarán Kilduff and Ken Kiernan leaving the pitch at half-time during during the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division match between Finn Harps and Dundalk at Finn Park in Ballybofey, Donegal. Photo by Gerry Scully/Dundalk FC.
Quotes – Ciarán Kilduff
“We’re all excited to be home. We nearly have jetlag, we’ve gone to Finn Harps and Kerry. But, thankfully, we got the six points from the two games and the lads are excited to get back here to Oriel.
“Obviously, we had a great opening night against Athlone, and to win the two games on the road since then, we’re delighted. We’ve had chances to be more clinical. We probably could have made our lives a little bit more comfortable and a little easier.
“Defensively, and Enda (Minogue) in goals, to have three clean sheets off the bat is a great start and we’ll take confidence from that. We’re eventually going to concede goals, it’s part and parcel of the game, but we’ve got to be taking confidence from the way we’ve started with those first three games.
“It’s too early to be looking at tables, but Treaty are obviously on a great run of form themselves. We’ve been watching them this week, they have some really good players, they’re well coached and they’re well managed, so we’re getting a really tough game here.
14 February 2025; The Dundalk FC starting XI before the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division match between Dundalk and Athlone Town at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Gerry Scully/Dundalk FC.
“There is no entitlement in this club anymore. I think the fans recognise that too. We are where we are right now. We have to just accept where we are and appreciate that we still have a team. We’ve got a hungry team and we’ll give it everything on Friday night.
“There isn’t going to be an easy game for us this year. We’ll get a proper test against Treaty. It’s a real exciting game. Every team in this division is seeing how the Premier Division is booming right now with TV rights, new characters, profile and attendances.
“Dundalk, Treaty and everyone else in this division want a piece of that next year. They’ve got the same goal as us. It’s going to come down to on the night who wants it the most. We know we’ll have the backing of the fans here, like we always do, and hopefully that will spur us on and hopefully gets us another three points on the board.”
Team News
Dundalk will be without attacker Leo Gaxha who is suspended having been shown a straight red card in last week’s win over Kerry. The 22-year-old has received a two-game ban and will return for the visit of Longford Town in a fortnight’s time.
Versatile defender Ethen Vaughan (hamstring) is once again unavailable as he continues his recovery. The manager is also sweating on a couple of players who will be assessed before the match.
Match Officials
Referee: Darragh White
Assistants: Chris Campbell and Darren Corcoran
Fourth Official: David Dunne
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