Stephen Kenny watched his side take St Patrick’s Athletic apart at Oriel Park on Friday night but the Dundalk boss said he wasn’t getting too carried away with the six-goal win.
The game was put to bed in the space of five additional minutes at the end of the first half as David McMillan hit a brace and Pat’s lost skipper Ian Bermingham to a straight red card.
Kenny acknowledged that the sending-off played a huge role in the outcome and he sympathised with his counterpart, Liam Buckley.
“There’s no doubt it was comfortable victory,” said Kenny. “St Pat’s being reduced to ten men did alter the game so we mustn’t lose sight of that.
“The two goals made it very comfortable. It was inevitable then that we would win well and there was a feeling that we would cut loose then and that was the case.
“St Patrick’s are a good team and it’s unfortunate for them as they lost a man before half-time and their heads dropped.
“They have a lot of good players and we won well tonight but we could be on the end of one of those heavy defeats in the future so we don’t want to overplay it.”
Sean Gannon, Robbie Benson, Dylan Connolly and Thomas Stewart all added goals in the second half and Kenny said it was good to see players who have been on the fringes for much of the season making an impact.
“The goals were well spread and it was important for other players to get on the scoresheet,” he said.
“Tommy Stewart got a goal and Dylan scored his first for the club and those things are important going into the next few weeks.
“We had players who didn’t make the bench in the European games who are now in the team and that shows the importance of working hard when they’re not involved,” he added.
“Shane Grimes and Conor Clifford started tonight and Tommy Stewart and Steven Kinsella came on. It was great to see them all doing well.
“They all showed a good attitude when the chips were down for them. It would have been easy for them to throw the towel in but they have shown a great attitude.”
Kenny reserved special praise for Michael Duffy. The 22-year-old terrorised the Pat’s defence and the Dundalk manager feels he is getting better with each passing week.
“Certain players are hitting a peak,” said Kenny. “Michael Duffy is really opening up and showing his quality. He showed great individual flair and dribbling ability and he’s so difficult to mark. He created a lot of chances.
“Himself and Dylan Connolly were so quick tonight,” he added. “There’s serious pace coming from those positions and in terms of our shape going forward, these are young players.
“They have real potential and are still only 21 and 22. It’s hard to replace the great players we’ve had but they have the capacity to be very good next season.”
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