Posted online: Nov 20th, 2008

Kildare County…..1   

Dundalk…………..6

The one thousand plus fans that turned up at Station Road for this crucial (for Dundalk) tie were treated to a night of high drama, the likes of which are unlikely to be witnessed again for a long time.

County were already condemned to face a two-legged playoff against Mervue, while Dundalk had to win and hope that Limerick 37 would do them a favour by taking at least a point from Shelbourne, who led the Lilywhites by one point going into the evening’s action.

The atmosphere at the grounds was electric long before referee Anthony Buttimer got proceedings under way.

Dundalk signalled their intent as early as the third minute when Tiernan Mulvanna’s volley was superbly pushed onto the post and wide by Austin O’Neill.

Two minutes later Paul Crowley was left in acres of space but fired over from six yards. The inevitable happened after 14 minutes when Robbie Farrell’s looping header from David Cassidy’s cross found the County net.

It was 2-0 to the visitors 13 minutes later. A superb through ball from John Flanagan caught the Kildare defence square and Farrell raced in to power a drive past keeper O’Neill.

Kildare’s first attempt on goal came ten minutes from the break but Philip Hughes failed to get his effort on target.

The Thoroughbreds came close to pulling one back six minutes from the break, when a poor punched clearance by Dundalk ‘keeper Chris Bennion fell kindly for Philly Hughes, but Bennion recovered to smother Hughes’s effort.

Farrell was causing endless problems for the County defence and he really should have netted his side’s third just before the break but he headed over while unmarked in the box.

Dundalk took up where they left off in the second half and Crowley set up Mulvanna, who brushed past Baba Issaka but shot wide.

County were still in the game at this stage and Ciaran Kilduff came close to scoring his ninth of the season when he got on the end of Cathal Brady’s right wing cross, but Ben Whelehan somehow got back to hook the netbound shot to safety.

The game was over as a contest on the arrival of Dundalk’s third two minutes before the hour mark. O’Neill misjudged a Whelahan free kick and Tiernan Mulvanna headed back across goal, leaving Farrell to tap to an empty net, completing his hat trick. Farrell added his fourth in the sixty-sixth minute before David Cassidy netted the goal of the game, when he superbly chipped the advancing O’Neill from 22 yards.

Derek Doyle made it six with twelve minutes remaining, before Dundalk’s Paul Shiels put the ball in his own net, under pressure from Ciaran Kilduff one minute later.

As Referee Buttimer brought proceedings to an end at Station Road both sides were leaving the pitch to polite applause as it appeared that Anthony Flood’s 16th minute goal at Tolka was about to deliver the title and promotion to Dermot Keely’s  Shelbourne side. 

However there was to be one final twist in this evening of drama as Limerick 37 substitute Colin Scanlon fired home an equaliser well into time added on, meaning that Dundalk are crowned champions.