DUNDALK MANAGER STEPHEN Kenny refused to point to the sweltering Cypriot heat as an excuse for his side’s 4-0 defeat to AEK Larnaca.
After a goalless draw at Oriel Park seven days earlier, Dundalk were well-positioned going into last night’s Europa League second leg at the AEK Arena.
But in temperatures that exceeded 30 degrees celsius, Kenny’s side — playing their third game in eight days — produced a lethargic display which was laden with uncharacteristic errors en route to an emphatic defeat.
Dundalk, who hadn’t lost a game since May, were left with a mountain to climb after just 21 minutes of the second leg after Ivan Trickovski and Tete gave AEK a two-goal lead.
Trickovski scored his second before the break. Substitute Joan Tomas completed the rout with three minutes remaining by scoring with his first touch, as AEK set up a clash with Austrian outfit Sturm Graz in the third qualifying round.
“I don’t think we can blame the heat, to be fair. The pitch was good,” Kenny said afterwards. “They stopped us playing out too easily. We needed to be braver than we were. Our rotation in the midfield; the wide players needed to come off the line, they can’t just stay wide in matches like that. You need to have better movement off the line.
“Our general passing wasn’t at the level that it needs to be. Basic errors — even things like retaining possession from throw-ins in the way that you should. Sometimes you just need to hang in there when a team gets a run on you like that. You see the period out.
“In the second half there’s still a game to be won. It’s a different game in the second half and they don’t look as good as they looked. But we just didn’t bring it to that point. It was too comfortable because they got the goals.”
On a night to forget for the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division leaders, they managed just two attempts on target, although Jamie McGrath did have a strong penalty claim dismissed after he appeared to be taken down in the box late in the first half.
However, what ultimately made the difference in the tie was AEK’s ability to capitalise on the defensive lapses of a side who started their 2018 League of Ireland campaign with a run of eight consecutive clean sheets.
Kenny said: “It’s a very disappointing night, of course. The defending for the goals is nowhere near good enough. They were all preventable really, the goals. To concede the [first] three was hard to believe.
“When they scored two the heads dropped completely for a period. We got them in at half-time, in the second half we played well, passed the ball really well, but the game was gone really. We committed basic errors and we got punished.”
While their interest in Europe has ended for another season, Dundalk remain in contention for a domestic treble. The Lilywhites, who are a point clear of Cork City with a game in hand in the Premier Division, are now facing into back-to-back games against Cobh Ramblers.
Kenny will take his team to St Colman’s Park on Monday for an EA Sports Cup semi-final, before they begin their FAI Cup campaign by welcoming Stephen Henderson’s side to Oriel Park next Friday.
“This has to hurt,” said Kenny. “We won’t tell them to park it. It has to hurt. We’re not parking anything. It’s disappointing. We’re capable of a lot better than what we showed. We just have to reflect now and get it right.
“We’ve got 10 games left in the league, a League Cup semi-final on Monday in Cobh and an FAI Cup match next Friday. We’ll have re-fixed matches with Sligo and Shamrock Rovers. We have to get on with winning matches.”
He added: “We just have to dust ourselves down now. We have an awful lot to play for this season. We’ve got to try and achieve that. Obviously we’re disappointed now. The players understand that it’s not acceptable.
“We’re capable of doing a lot better than we did tonight. To concede the goals we did gave us no chance. The players are better than that. A lot of them are in their infancy in terms of European games, but it was a harsh enough lesson.”
– Additional reporting from Caoimhín Reilly in Larnaca
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
