DUNDALK MANAGER STEPHEN Kenny felt that some key decisions went Cork City’s way in yesterday’s SSE Airtricity League encounter at Turner’s Cross.
City ran out 2-1 winners in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,746 on Leeside, with Karl Sheppard scoring twice in the first half before substitute David McMillan pulled one back for the visitors with 17 minutes remaining.
Thanks to a faultless start to the campaign, John Caulfield’s side are now six points clear at the top of the Premier Division, with the champions falling further behind having also lost to Derry City a fortnight ago.
The Lilywhites ended the game with 10 men, as Ciaran Kilduff was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Conor McCormack. Kilduff had a first-half penalty claim dismissed after going down under a challenge from Cork City goalkeeper Mark McNulty. The Dundalk striker also had a goal ruled out for a push on McNulty from a corner.
“I didn’t think we deserved to lose the game. We weren’t good enough defensively with the two goals we gave away. There were some other key moments in the game,” Stephen Kenny said afterwards.
“Mark McNulty took Ciaran Kilduff down with his feet, I thought it should have been a penalty. Then there was the disallowed goal and the sending-off as well. Three big decisions went against us. I’m disappointed with that.”
Kenny said he’d need to take a closer look at the disallowed goal, but the Dundalk boss was in no doubt when it came to referee Rob Rogers’ decision not to award Kilduff a penalty.
“The penalty is a cert(ainty). The disallowed goal looks harsh enough but the penalty is a cert and it’s just not given,” insisted Kenny.
Ahead of the visit of Drogheda United to Oriel Park on Friday night for the Louth derby, he added: “This is a disappointing night for us. I think it was a harsh one to lose. There’s definitely room for improvement in our play but at the same time I still didn’t think we deserved to lose the game.
“A couple of key decisions influenced the game but we’ll just have to accept that and get ready for Friday.”
