DANIEL KELLY SAVOURED a dream moment, as his goal helped Dundalk qualify for the Europa League group stages at the Aviva Stadium this evening.
The Lilywhites were 2-1 up but under the cosh against KI, before a superb breakaway goal, capped off by a fine finish from Kelly, effectively ended the game as a contest in the dying stages.
“I was praying that I got a chance today and thankfully got the goal to seal it for us,” the 24-year-old attacker told RTÉ afterwards.
“It was backs against the walls for a couple of moments but thankfully we held on.”
Kelly grew up very close to the Aviva Stadium and joked: “Me ma, me da and my bro are wrecking the gaff only down the road.”
He also highlighted how far he has come in a short space of time, having lined out with both St Patrick’s CYFC and Crumlin United, before brief stints with Bray Wanderers and Bohemians paved the way for a move to Dundalk ahead of the 2019 campaign.
“It’s amazing, unbelievable. I was playing Leinster Senior League three years ago, so to be here now is just the stuff of dreams.
Kelly also paid tribute to Dundalk’s much-discussed management team. The recent appointment of Filippo Giovagnoli to succeed Vinny Perth had led to scepticism, given his lack of experience, but the coach has certainly raised eyebrows amid the impressive results so far
“Since the two lads came in, we knew that everybody’s working their socks off. We knew we had a chance with the luck of the draw. The league wasn’t great for us this year, but we would have bit our hand off now to be in the Europa League group stages.”
Gary Rogers, who made some vital saves in the win, added: “They were going to have opportunities in the game and you’re going to need to make a save, especially in Europa League, when it gets to this stage in the competition. You’re just hopeful you can keep them out and thankfully we managed to do that.
“It hasn’t been the season we would have liked, but this is where you want to be. To get to the group stages of the Europa League is a phenomenal achievement by the whole group. We’re just delighted we’ve been able to replicate what we’ve done in the past.”
