Title perfect birthday present for Dundalk's Higgins

It was a birthday to remember for Ruaidhrí Higgins as the Dundalk midfielder got his hands on a first league winner's medal following his side's 2-0 victory over Cork City at Oriel Park last night.

Title perfect birthday present for Dundalk's Higgins

It was a birthday to remember for Ruaidhrí Higgins as the Dundalk midfielder got his hands on a first league winner's medal following his side's 2-0 victory over Cork City at Oriel Park last night.

The former Derry City man turned 30 on Thursday and will have a weekend to remember after helping the Lilywhites to a 10th league title in his first season at the club.

It means Higgins has won all there is to win in the domestic game and he admitted after the match that it was a “special” victory.

“It's my first title and I was 30 yesterday so to win my first league title on my 30th birthday was special,” he said.

“I'd imagine it will be one of the best weekends of my life.”

Higgins came closest to winning a title back in 2005 when he was part of the Derry City side who were pipped on the final day of the season by Cork City. He is now just delighted to have put that setback behind him.

“I wasn't really involved that night. I was a young player but it gave me a taster for what was to come,” he said.

“I'll cherish this now. It's an unbelievable night and I'm sure the celebrations will continue for a few days.”

Having previously played under current boss Stephen Kenny at Derry, Higgins said the title was just rewards for the manager's efforts since taking charge at Oriel Park two years ago.

“Dundalk were nearly in the first division a couple of years ago before he took over. I'm not just praising him for the sake of it but it doesn't surprise me what he has done here. He done the same with Derry. They were fighting relegation and he turned them into title contenders in a year.

“I'm delighted for him because he has been close a few times and he probably deserves a few more league titles but what a way to win it. I think the script was written for us to win it in front of our own fans,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dundalk captain Stephen O'Donnell hailed his comeback as a “fairytale” after his goal set the Louth men on their way to victory last night.

The 28-year-old was told he would never play again after rupturing the anterior ligament in his knee against Shamrock Rovers on Good Friday.

However, after making a remarkable return in the last few weeks he returned to the starting line-up last night before popping up with a crucial goal three minutes into the second half.

That, coupled with Brian Gartland's strike eight minutes from the end, ensured a famous victory for Stephen Kenny's side and while the Lilywhites did things the hard way, O'Donnell says he couldn't have scripted it better.

“The way it has panned out now, you wouldn't have swapped it,” he said.

“It is sort of fairytale stuff. I had a feeling all week that if I made those runs I could score.

“I'm sort of delighted we drew our last two games before tonight. We knew we had a big performance in us. People were questioning our bottle and that but I don't think it was ever a case of that. It sort of suited us to know we had to win. There was no grey areas, we just had to go at it.”

It was the Galway man's third league winner's medal but he said it is now his most special.

“I'd say it would have to be. If you had said at the start of last season that Dundalk would win the league this season, people would have laughed at you.

“Even at the start of this season when we lost 4-1 to Drogheda a lot of people were saying we were one hit wonders and last season was a fluke but we knew we had very good players and that's the way the season panned out.

“I know I scored tonight but the team went through the hard yards throughout the season. It was a phenomenal season and I'm delighted for everyone,” he said.

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