Dundalk needed a bit of luck tonight.
They saw none of it in the first 45 minutes of action in their final Europa League group game.
To qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, the Lilywhites required a favour from group leaders Zenit St. Petersburg, who had absolutely nothing to play for when they travelled to AZ Alkmaar, Dundalk’s biggest competition for the second qualifying spot.
Stephen Kenny knew a win over Maccabi Tel Aviv was close to crucial if he was to see his side progress but that was dealt an unwelcome blow when Alkmaar took an early lead in the Netherlands.
Things went from bad to worse just minutes later as Dundalk fell behind when a costly error from Brian Gartland forced goalkeeper Gary Rogers into fouling and conceding a penalty.
Tal Ben Haim stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to make the away side’s uphill task all the steeper.
21: GOAL
Maccabi 1-0 Dundalk (Ben Haim – pen).
Here's the incident and penalty. #LOIinEurope https://t.co/voponRzCG8— eir Sport (@eirSport) December 8, 2016
But a gorgeous move from Dundalk resulted in a vital equaliser when Chris Shields found himself in space on the right side of Maccabi area.
He drilled it across to Daryl Horgan who, on first glance, appeared to get a toe to the cross.
27: GOAL!
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-1 Dundalk (Horgan).
Good pressing and lovely move!
Live on eir Sport 1. #LOIinEurope https://t.co/1PJjux82bf— eir Sport (@eirSport) December 8, 2016
But after viewing the replay, it became clear that it was an own goal courtesy of Eliazer Dasa that threw the Irish outfit a much-needed lifeline.
However that was snatched away when Maccabi Tel Aviv got a second from seemingly nowhere as Dor Micha’s shot slipped under Rodgers’ hand and into the back of the net.
38: GOAL
Maccabi 2-1 Dundalk (Micha).
Another mistake sees Dundalk concede again. #LOIinEurope https://t.co/bSIWBxCPSd— eir Sport (@eirSport) December 8, 2016
And a hammer blow to Dundalk’s hopes was hit when Alkmaar went 2-0 up to give themselves every chance of snatching that second spot.
There is an awful lot more football to play in the second half but, at the very least, Dundalk need Zenit to get back into their game to have any chance of qualifying and hope to draw level themselves.
Big 45 ahead.
Diarmuid Connolly makes his long overdue GAA Hour debut and talks to Colm Parkinson about everything from the black card to his rivalry with Lee Keegan and how he honed the ability to kick accurately with either foot.
