The Numbers Game

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FIGURES... THE NUMBERS GAME

With it being league game number three, there was only one number going to appear in this column this week.

3- The number of goals scored by Seánie Maguire in one leg against Levadia Tallinn. While Michael Duffy’s angled volley at Oriel Park is one which will live long in the memory of Dundalk supporters, it’s their former striker’s hat trick in Turner’s Cross which leaves him as the last Irish player to score a trio in European competition. Incidentally, Sergei Lepmets- the Estonian national keeper- was in goal on both occasions and has also been part of squads which faced Drogheda Utd and Northern Ireland.

3- The number of corner takers Dundalk used during Friday’s Oriel Park meeting with Derry City. Cammy Smith started with the first before Michael Duffy took over and then Jordan Flores took the corner from which Dane Massey scored the winning goal. Incidentally, it means that Dundalk’s number 8 (John Mountney, number 7 (Duffy) and number 6 (Flores) have all provided assists directly from corner kicks. 3 - The number of years, prior to the Derry City game, it had been since Dundalk had won on the opening night. In 2019, Sligo Rovers travelled to Oriel Park and earned a 1-1 draw courtesy of a Jack Keaney free kick and an Ed McGinty penalty save while the previous year saw Bray Wanderers arrive and earn a goalless draw at Oriel Park. Incidentally, three years after trialling at Galway Utd, Seagulls’ goalkeeper Aaron Dillon was making his debut on loan from Blackburn Rovers and Dundalk had three left footed players in their back four- Dane Massey and Stephen Folan were centre halves with Dean Jarvis at left back and the right footed Sean Gannon at right back. 3 - Both number threes tonight are central defenders who have raised silverware while captaining their current side and are widely revered by fans of their club, as well as being respected voices within both local and national media. Another thing both Alan Bennett and Brian Gartland have in common is that they both have Third Level degrees in business, Bennett’s is in Business Management while Gartland’s is in Sports Management.

25 March 2017; Cork’s Alan Bennett and Dundalk’s Brian Gartland lead their teams out for the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division game between Cork City and Dundalk.