Filippo Giovagnoli proud of 'polite' players amid disappointment of defeat to Arsenal

After a first half that offered much in terms of positivity for Dundalk, three goals either side of half time put a sour note on what was always set to be a difficult night for the Louth side.

Two error-strewn goals in the final two minutes of the first half, and a Nicolas Pépé screamer 30 seconds into the second, saw one of the tournament favourites to a 3-0 win at the Emirates.

Dundalk manager Filippo Giovagnoli was proud of his side's performance, as they fought valiantly throughout.

“I think we did well the first 42 minutes, then there is a little bit of disappointment like this,'' he said, referring to the two goals conceded just before the break.

“We were decently organised defensively,” he recalled. “Good organised actually because we didn’t concede one shot before the goal.”

With an important game against St. Pats at the weekend, where they need a win to secure European football next season, it’s understandable that Giovagnoli had one eye on Sunday from the start.

“I was thinking to Sunday already from the first minute. You prepare for a game and you are professional to try your best to face your opponent.”

At the same time, his second half substitutions were very much orientated towards Sunday’s game, with captain Chris Shields among those substituted before the hour mark.

There were a lot of positives to take from the game. He heaped praise on his solid defensive unit, who were under pressure throughout the 90 minutes.

“Of course, in this kind of game the defenders are under pressure, but the defenders always perform in this type of game.”

One major negative, however, was the injury to Patrick McEleney early in the second half, who went down under no pressure from his opposition.

Dundalk are still unclear of the extent of his injury, which appears to be in the groin.

“We are evaluating now. I think he felt something to the groin, we will see, if he need a couple of weeks or it was just something.

“For us he's a super important player,” said Giovagnoli, before also confirming that Murray’s half-time substitution was based on fatigue rather than injury.

Post-match, one of the stats of the game was the fact that Dundalk were the first team in the 11 years of the Europa League not to commit a foul in the game.

Giovagnoli was adamant that this was something to be proud of, and that it showed the class of his side.

“I was talking about that with my staff – my team are so polite,” he laughed, adding that his side had yet to receive a yellow card in this season’s Europa League campaign.

“This is another compliment. This is a tactical observation.”