“As a team, I don’t think we are getting the credit that it is due and I think that’s for being at the top you don’t get the credit where it is due and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves. Win a league, win a double and that’s what we are going
“As a team, I don’t think we are getting the credit that it is due and I think that’s for being at the top you don’t get the credit where it is due and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves. Win a league, win a double and that’s what we are going to do.”
That was the defiant statement from Patrick Hoban following the 3-1 loss to Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday night as Dundalk’s European adventure that has seen them travel to Riga, Baku and the Slovakian capital come to an end in Tallaght. The Lilywhites were hit with three counter-attack goals that proved too big of a mountain to climb but Hoban was looking at the overall optics of the game. He was happy with Dundalk’s performance.
“There are so many positives to take out of that game, everyone is really disappointed in there because this is a game we felt like we should be winning. Especially before the game, we felt like we could go through here and that’s the way every Irish team should be going through in Europe”
“We believe that we should be going through and believe that you should be there at the highest level. But we just got done on the counter-attack and a few mistakes and that’s what happens too at the highest level if you are not one hundred per cent concentrated you get punished.”
Periods of the game last night, Dundalk really took to the away side with the early signs showing this could be one of those nights for Dundalk where it all clicks together. However it wasn’t to be but Hoban recognised the fact, Dundalk once again have lifted their performance another level.
“I honestly believe that was our best performance this season, especially in the last couple of months I think we created a lot of chances we played on the front foot we played more of the Dundalk way and I’m sure you might even have enjoyed watching, not the scoreline but the score doesn’t reflect how we played but on other days those chances go in and it would be a totally different story and to be honest I’m proud of the players tonight.”
While the first goal was a sucker punch to take the second killed the game off before Dundalk could get a stranglehold on the game. Crucial moments in games tip the balance in one teams favour and the second goal came just after Chris Shields and Sean Murray tested Slovan’s defence with vigour.
"It just came at the wrong time and the manner in which we conceded the first one, it was unlike us in way but we just have to take it on the chin but like I say I am proud of the boys because we just keep going to the bitter end and we never stopped.”
“If my penalty goes in its 2-2 and with eighteen minutes to go and to be honest, they were gone, you could feel that out there that they were gone and we just kept pushing for more goals and more goals which left us open obviously for the third. All I can say is that I am very proud of the boys there is a lot of positives to take from that performance and now we have to go on and win a league and cup.”
Over the two legs Dominik Greif the Slovakian international keeper pulled off some magnificent saves to deny the Lilywhites what looked like certain goals. He also saved a crucial penalty from Hoban to deny the Lilywhites the second goal in Tallaght. Hoban was full of praise for the shot-stopper.
“He has pulled off some great saves, John’s header, Boylers header, Mickys shot and he pulled off a decent save from my header. For the penalty I done a lot of work on penalties, I do a lot of video analysis myself and on the opponent keepers every time I play, I must of looked at about nine penalties I knew he was diving early I just didn’t know what side he was going, I just didn’t lift it high enough and that’s the way it goes. I was very disappointed because I knew he was diving somewhere but that’s just the way it is.”
Dundalk don’t have much time to dwell on the result and the passports can be put away for another few months, Hoban knows that the ‘bread and butter’ as opposed to the caviar now need to be taken care of. Home fronts and the challenges they face in them is where they need to look now.
"The feeling right now in the camp is that everyone is bitterly disappointed that we didn’t get through to the next round because that’s where we believe we should be and that’s the standard we have set as a group. As a whole squad as a whole staff we set standards, we are disappointed we didn’t achieve the goal we set out for.”
“But everyone knows we have to be positive because that was a very positive performance tonight, I think we were terrific. I honestly can’t remember the last time we played like that I’m being deadly serious we created so many chances and its better for me obviously when the lads are playing like that, we were higher up the pitch and we were making it very difficult for the opponents.”
“I think there is a lot of positives. We have a league to win, cups to win and I’m sure as long as we stick together we can do that.”
Hoban believes that despite the amount of coverage both locally and nationally the team simply hasn’t got the praise it deserves at times - he was dismayed at some stating that Dundalk was in the middle of a bad season.
“Well if you look it outside of our own media, we are having a bad season. I don’t know it’s just the national media, we are seven points ahead we are in both cups and the performance we put on tonight was just fantastic.”
“I don’t think there is enough publicity for Dundalk and how we play. We didn’t score enough goals in Europe and we were being criticised for it but we held our own.”
“We were brilliant against Qarabag at home, we probably played one of the best sides we ever played and we got done over there - fair enough. I think there should be a lot more publicity on us as I think we have been fantastic, especially tonight.”
“As a team, I don’t think we are getting the credit that it is due and I think that’s for being at the top you don’t get the credit where it is due and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves. Win a league, win a double and that’s what we are going to do.”
Hoban once again donned the captain's armband and knows like Brian Gartland that the team need leadership between now and October, something he is willing to do head-on.
“I fully believe in our team and in what we do and I think we have done that tonight but we just got done on three goals on the counter and we were the better side we played on the front foot and as long as we play like that between now and the end of the season we should be there or thereabouts in what we want to achieve as a club."
