MULLER SILENCES CHAMPIONS

Monumental 10-man Lilywhites battle to victory

- PAUL O'HEHIR

STEPHEN O’DONNELL hailed Dundalk’s ‘monumental effort’ after keeping Shamrock Rovers at bay with 10-men for over an hour. 

And the Hoops – with just one goal in their last five games – saw their FAI Cup misery compounded by a fresh attacking headache as Rory Gaffney shipped an early groin injury.

Hayden Muller put the Lilywhites ahead at a rocking Oriel Park but Dundalk were left sweating for victory when Paul Doyle was shown a second yellow after half an hour.

“It’s a brilliant result because of the circumstances of playing with 10-men for 70-odd minutes,” said the manager (inset), who described the sending off as ‘very, very soft’.

“We showed a great attitude and embraced the adversity of going a man down and we worked hard for each other. From an effort point of view, it was monumental.”