Dundalk boss Filippo Giovagnoli: 'What matters most is the result and to get through'

Andrew Dempsey reports from the Aviva Stadium

Dundalk boss Filippo Giovagnoli admits he was not pleased with his side’s performance as they reached the Group Stages of the Europa League on Thursday evening.

The Lilywhites eventually saw off Faroes KI Klaksvik with a 3-1 win, but the result did not exactly tell the full story of the game.

Dundalk took a two-goal lead following goals from Sean Murray and Daniel Cleary before the deficit was halved in the 66th minute by KI.

They eventually wrapped up the win in the 79th minute thanks to Daniel Kelly’s goal – but despite the win and result, their Italian boss was disappointed with his team’s performance.  

“The feeling is unbelievable,” Giovagnoli said after the game. “I am just a little bit upset with the performance.

“It was an important game for us, and you could see the players being nervous in the build-up.

“The pitch was really fast but what matters most at the end of the day is the result and to get through. It is important, and we’ve made history. We are proud of them.”

As a result of their win tonight, Dundalk go into Friday’s draw for the Europa League Group Stages – with Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur being a potential challenge that excites Giovagnoli.

“I would live to play against Jose Mourinho,” he admitted. “I think he is an icon in soccer so just to meet him on the pitch would be great.”



He added: “We didn’t stick to the plan and we didn’t control the game. At 2-0 we decided to stand back, and you cannot do that.

“You can’t give up any part of the pitch to any team in the world, so this was our mistake. We should have kept trying to play.”

It is only natural now that there will be questions surrounding Giovagnoli’s future at Dundalk following their win – but he insists that he would like to stay at the club in the future.

“We have time to discuss things with the club, but I was talking to them already about things, not just ahead of tonight,” he said.

“I want to stay, and I want to build something with Dundalk. I like the club; I think it has a lot of potential and we’re going to try to do something special.”