Trinity men’s senior footballers opened their league campaign at the wet Iveagh Grounds with a battling loss to Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT), 2-12 to Trinity and 2-16 to DKIT. There was a prevailing mood of positivity among the team before the game, confident of a win in a fixture that Dundalk had gotten the better of in recent years. A combative, end-to-end contest ensued which saw Trinity pipped at the line despite a valiant second-half comeback.
While the rain cleared up before throw-in, both sides struggled with a slippy pitch in the early stages. Dundalk had the better of the early chances but converted just one point among a flurry of wides. Trinity responded emphatically, however, with a well-worked goal. A long ball was won fantastically by Adam Treanor, who offloaded to start a move ended by Jack O’Connell’s thumping finish, giving Trinity an early two-point lead.
Trinity struggled to retain their kickout early in the game, an intense press from Dundalk allowing them to rattle off the next five points. Nonetheless, Trinity improved their passing game after early handling errors and answered with points from O’Connell, Treanor and Ruairi McSweeney.
The conditions provided an early blow for Trinity, with Treanor forced off through injury after a slip. Dundalk continued their dominance on kickouts and converted two further points, but Trinity responded with a flourish before half-time with points from McSweeney and Micheal McGrath. This left it all square, 1-5 to 8 points at the break.
Trinity picked up where they left off, midfielder Conor Leonard opening the half with a beautiful long-range score followed by a point from Con Smith. Dundalk eased their press, which allowed Trinity to finally convert their first short kickout of the game in the 36th minute. Despite an encouraging opening to the half from Trinity, a period of control followed for Dundalk with their full-forward line particularly influential. They notched a goal and seven points in fifteen minutes, broken up by just one Trinity point from Rory McElren.
The tide would turn on the 50th minute, as Dundalk’s number 7 received a black card for a cynical foul. Trinity took full advantage of the extra man and immediately responded with a point from Captain Lee Pearson and two frees from Smith. Pearson continued to push the team forward and was rewarded with a penalty after his fine run led to McElren being tripped during a goal chance. Oisin Kirwan sent the keeper the wrong way, putting Trinity firmly in the mix for the last ten minutes.
The imperious Leonard caught the resulting kickout, feeding McGrath who converted to leave just one point in it. It was a courageous response by Trinity and their intensity and pressure could not be matched for a considerable period. There would be late heartbreak, however, when a long ball allowed Dundalk’s 14 to convert a goal chance with just four minutes remaining and leave the game just out of reach.
While the men fell just short in a highly competitive game, their mentality and effort could not be criticised. The team rallied after a tough start to the second half, with several players observing that they may not have shown that resilience in years gone by. It was an encouraging start for a team with its sights on Trench Cup success later in the year.
