Dundalk FC Jamu Shelbourne di Oriel Park

Dundalk FC menjamu Shelbourne di Stadion Oriel Park pada Jumat, 1 Mei 2026, pukul 19.45 waktu setempat guna memulai rangkaian jadwal padat kompetisi kasta tertinggi Liga Irlandia sepanjang bulan Mei. Pertandingan ini menjadi ajang pembuktian bagi kedua tim yang baru saja mengalami kekalahan pada pekan sebelumnya.

Manajer Dundalk FC, Ciaran Kilduff, menekankan pentingnya memberikan respons segera setelah timnya menelan kekalahan pertama dalam kurun waktu dua bulan terakhir. Saat ini, tim asuhan Kilduff masih memimpin klasemen dengan keunggulan delapan poin atas Shelbourne.

"We obviously made a very positive start to the season and had been on a good run before last Saturday night’s defeat, which was our first loss in two months. That is the nature of this league. It is unforgiving, you get nothing easy, and every game brings a different challenge. We have to try to get back to our positive ways against a really good Shelbourne team, who are more than capable of producing a big performance on any given night." ujar Ciaran Kilduff, Manajer Dundalk FC.

Kilduff juga menegaskan kebanggaan skuadnya terhadap catatan laga kandang di Oriel Park yang belum terkalahkan sejak ia menjabat sebagai manajer klub promosi tersebut. Ia mencatat bahwa seluruh elemen klub mengambil kebanggaan dari rekor positif di markas mereka.

"We have been really strong at home, and since I came to the club, we have never lost a league game at Oriel Park. That is something the players take pride in, something I take pride in, something the staff take pride in, and I think it is something our supporters take pride in as well." kata Ciaran Kilduff, Manajer Dundalk FC.

Menyadari bahwa kekalahan kandang mungkin terjadi di masa depan, Kilduff tetap mempercayai ketangguhan mental para pemainnya untuk mengatasi tekanan dalam kompetisi Premier Division. Kekalahan pekan lalu merupakan hasil negatif kedua tim sejak kembali ke divisi utama.

"We know we will lose games at home eventually, but the important thing is how quickly we respond and react when adversity comes our way. Saturday night was only our second defeat since our return to the Premier Division, and the players will be looking to produce a reaction. They are a great group, and the support we have received has been brilliant, both home and away. We are very lucky to have that backing, and it certainly does not go unnoticed." ucap Ciaran Kilduff, Manajer Dundalk FC.

Di sisi lawan, asisten pelatih Shelbourne, Joey O'Brien, berupaya membenahi lini pertahanan timnya yang telah menelan empat kekalahan beruntun. Evaluasi menyeluruh dilakukan setelah sesi latihan sepekan terakhir untuk menatap laga ke depan.

"It’s been a good week’s training. We were back in after the match on Saturday, went through the debrief and then it’s about looking forward. There’s not a lot to be gained from looking back too much, dwelling on defeats, we’re very focused on putting it right." ujar Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Mantan pemain West Ham United tersebut meminta anak asuhnya untuk mengingat keberhasilan masa lalu guna menjaga konsistensi performa sepanjang 90 menit pertandingan. O'Brien mencermati perbedaan performa timnya antara babak pertama dan kedua pada laga terakhir.

"They’re good teams, but people need to remember we’re a formidable side. The lads need to remember who they are and focus on the success we’ve had. We’ve looked at the last game, the first half was very good, but the second half wasn’t. It’s about getting that performance over 90 minutes and making sure we maintain our levels." kata Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

O'Brien menilai bahwa memenangkan pertandingan adalah solusi tunggal untuk mengembalikan momentum dan kepercayaan diri para pemain The Reds yang memiliki kualitas teknis tinggi. Ia menegaskan bahwa tidak ada tim yang merasa tenang saat harus menghadapi Shelbourne.

"These patches happen in football. Confidence and momentum in football are big and when they are low, the only way out of it is to win a game, that’s the aim now. People talk about tough weekend for Shels. No team looks forward to playing us, we have some top, top players here. They haven’t shown that as much as they should in recent games, we want to put that right" tutur Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Pertandingan ini juga bisa menjadi momen bersejarah bagi Harry Wood yang berpeluang mencatatkan penampilan ke-100 sejak bergabung dari Hull pada musim panas 2023. O'Brien memuji perkembangan pemain muda tersebut sejak masa pinjamannya di Grimsby.

"It’s a great achievement. Harry has written his name into the history of the club with big moments. The goal in Derry, his performances in Europe last season, he’s a big game player and he’s really developed here. He came in as a young player from Hull in the summer of 2023 with high technical ability, went away then to Grimsby and came back to us, and since then he’s worked really hard to develop and mature into a top player. It’s great to see. He’s a brilliant player." puji Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

O'Brien menambahkan bahwa penilaian luar sering kali bersifat jangka pendek berdasarkan hasil pertandingan terakhir. Ia meyakini tim lawan seperti Dundalk dan Bohemians tetap menganggap Shelbourne sebagai lawan yang tangguh.

"Football is very short sighted. People only remember the last result, and we know the run hasn’t been good enough for the level of player we have at this club. We’re not making excuses, but people looking at these games from the outside should see that Dundalk and Bohemians are looking at these as really tough fixtures for them." jelas Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Krisis pertahanan Shelbourne yang rentan terhadap bola mati dan umpan silang menjadi sorotan utama agar kesalahan pada laga sebelumnya tidak terulang. O'Brien menginstruksikan timnya untuk memperkuat lini belakang demi menjaga keunggulan yang sudah dibangun.

"In the first half we were very good, we could have been three or four up, and they should have been down to ten men. But we didn’t show our experience, we let ourselves fall out of the game in the second half, gave away really really bad goals. We need to shore it up at the back. That’s as simple as it is. We’re scoring goals. It’s all talk unless we turn it into action, and that’s what we need to do now." pungkas Joey O'Brien, Pelatih Shelbourne FC.

Media RTE melaporkan kondisi pertahanan Shelbourne dengan menyatakan bahwa gol-gol yang bersarang di gawang mereka belakangan ini tidak lagi bisa dianggap sebagai momen yang terjadi secara kebetulan.