2012 Dundalk F.C. season

The 2012 season was Dundalk's fourth successive season in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion in 2008. All together, it was the club's 86th season in League of Ireland football. The club was managed by Sean McCaffrey, who was in his first season in charge. The club also competed in the FAI Cup, League of Ireland Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup. Dundalk finished the 33-round season in 11th position, requiring them to play a promotion/relegation play-off against Waterford United of the First Division; a tie which they won on aggregate, thus retaining their place in the Premier Division for the 2013 season. Results against Monaghan United F.C. were expunged, after they withdrew from the League mid-season.[1]

Dundalk F.C.
2012 season
ChairmanPadraig McGowan
ManagerSean McCaffrey
StadiumOriel Park
Premier Division11th
FAI CupSemi-finals
League of Ireland CupQuarter-finals
Leinster Senior CupFirst round
← 2011
2013 →

The club spent the season battling financial problems, which threatened to put the club of business altogether.[2] Manager Sean McCaffrey resigned in July with the club rooted to the bottom of the table and financial losses mounting. He was replaced by his assistant, Darius Kierans, in a caretaker role.[3] The club's owner, Gerry Matthews put the club up for sale, and with the assistance of a Supporters Trust, it was taken over by local businessmen Andy Connolly and Paul Brown (owners of the team's official sponsors, Fastfix) before the end of the season.[4]

2012 Fixtures and results

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2 March 2012 Round 1 Monaghan United Expunged [1] Dundalk
9 March 2012 Round 2 Dundalk 0–2 St Patrick's Athletic Oriel Park, Dundalk
Report S. O'Flynn   9'
J. Russell   53'
Attendance: 1,500 (estimated)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
16 March 2012 Round 3 Drogheda United 0–0 Dundalk Hunky Dorys Park, Drogheda
Paul Crowley   69'  
Eric Foley   77'  
[1] Attendance: 1,287
Referee: Rob Rogers
23 March 2012 Round 4 Dundalk 2–1 UCD Oriel Park, Dundalk
C. Shields   51'
S. O'Neill   55'
Report G. Rusk   67' (pen.) Attendance: 925
Referee: Derek Tomney
31 March 2012 Round 5 Sligo Rovers 3–0 Dundalk The Showgrounds, Sligo
19:45 IWT D. North   48', 90'
G. Peers   54'
Report Attendance: 2.586
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
6 April 2012 Round 6 Dundalk 0–0 Shelbourne Oriel Park, Dundalk
19.45 IST Report Attendance: 1,362
Referee: Rob Rogers (Dublin)
13 April 2012 Round 7 Shamrock Rovers 6–0 Dundalk Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght
20:00 C. Turner   31'
G. Twigg   33', 81', 87'
B. Dennehy   46'
D. Kavanagh   90+1'
Report Attendance: 3,200
Referee: Graham Kelly
20 April 2012 Round 8 Derry City 1–2 Dundalk The Brandywell, Derry
R. Higgins   84' Report M. Rafter   14'
S. O'Neill   52'
C. Shields   90'
Attendance: 1,500 (estimated)
Referee: Damien Hancock
27 April 2012 Round 9 Dundalk 0–2 Bohemians Oriel Park, Dundalk
19:45 IST (UTC+1) Report R. McEvoy   26'
P. McMahon   70'
Attendance: 903
Referee: Richie Winter
4 May 2012 Round 10 Cork City 3–2 Dundalk Turners Cross, Cork
D. O'Neill   3', 14'
V. Sullivan   50'
Report M. Rafter   8'
G. Shanahan   12'
Attendance: 2,815
Referee: Padraigh Sutton
11 May 2012 Round 11 Dundalk 0–2 Bray Wanderers Oriel Park, Dundalk
19:45 IST (Report) J. Byrne   40' (pen.), 73' (pen.) Attendance: 700
Referee: Paul Tuite
18 May 2012 Round 12 Dundalk Expunged[1] Monaghan United
21 May 2012 Round 13 St Patrick's Athletic 1–2 Dundalk Richmond Park, Inchicore
C. Forrester   43' Report M. Rafter   45'
M. Griffin   78', 90+2'
Attendance: 1,090
Referee: Graham Kelly
1 June 2012 Round 14 Dundalk 1–2 Drogheda United Oriel Park, Dundalk
G. Shanahan   63' Report S. Brennan   43'
P. Crowley   66'
E. Foley   90'  
Attendance: 700 (estimated)
Referee: Paul Tuite
22 June 2012 Round 15 UCD 1–1 Dundalk UCD Bowl
R. Benson   49' Report N. Murphy   35' Attendance: 158
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
29 June 2012 Round 16 Dundalk 1–2 Sligo Rovers Oriel Park, Dundalk
19:45 IWT M. Rafter   36' Report D. North   43', 49' Attendance: 500
Referee: Dave McKeon
6 July 2012 Round 17 Shelbourne 4–0 Dundalk Tolka Park, Dublin
20.00 IST P. Gorman   30', 52 '
K. Dawson   64'
B. McLaughlin   71' (o.g.)
Report Attendance: 801
Referee: Alan Kelly
13 July 2012 Round 18 Dundalk 1–1 Shamrock Rovers Oriel Park, Dundalk
19:45 G. Shanahan   18' Report D. Kavanagh   61' Attendance: 1,319
Referee: Tom Connolly
20 July 2012 Round 19 Dundalk 1–1 Derry City Oriel Park, Dundalk
C. Shields   85' Report D. McDaid   73' Attendance: 1,139
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
27 July 2012 Round 20 Bohemians 2–1 Dundalk Dalymount Park, Phibsboro
19:45 E. McMillan   35', 45' Report M. Rafter   70' Attendance: 1,158
Referee: Graham Kelly
3 August 2012 Round 21 Dundalk 1–1 Cork City Oriel Park, Dundalk
G. Shanahan   60' Report I. Turner   21' Attendance: 1,007
Referee: Damien Hancock
10 August Round 22 Bray Wanderers 1–1 Dundalk Carlisle Grounds, Bray
19:45 IST David Webster   90+4' (Report) Gary Shanahan   54' Referee: Derek Tomney
17 August 2012 Round 23 Monaghan United Cancelled[1] Dundalk
20 August 2012 Round 24 Dundalk 0–1 St Patrick's Athletic Oriel Park, Dundalk
Report J. Kelly   90+1' Attendance: 1,000 (estimated)
Referee: Paul Tuite
31 August 2012 Round 25 Drogheda United 3–2 Dundalk Hunky Dorys Park, Drogheda
P. Hynes   31', 87'
J. Sullivan   90+1'
Report M. Griffin   5', 25' Attendance: 933
Referee: Anthony Buttimer
7 September 2012 Round 26 Dundalk 1–2 UCD Oriel Park, Dundalk
M. Rafter   56' Report D. McMillan   30', 80' (pen.) Attendance: 800 (estimated)
Referee: Damien Hancock
10 September 2012 Round 27 Sligo Rovers 3–0 Dundalk The Showgrounds, Sligo
19:45 IWT M. Quigley   10'
G. Peers   49'
L. Buchanan   86'
Report Attendance: 3,265
Referee: Tom Connolly
21 September 2012 Round 28 Dundalk 0–1 Shelbourne Oriel Park, Dundalk
19.45 IST Marc Griffin   87' Report Paddy Kavanagh   41' Referee: Graham Kelly
28 September 2012 Round 29 Shamrock Rovers 7–0 Dundalk Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght
R. Finn   27'
K. Oman   29'
C. Kilduff   45+2'
G. McCabe   57' (pen.), 66' (pen.)
G. Twigg   70', 72'
Report Attendance: 1,200 (estimated)
Referee: Damien Hancock
5 October 2012 Round 30 Derry City 4–0 Dundalk The Brandywell, Derry
19:45 D. McDaid   31'
P. McEleney   48'
R. Curran   82'
D. McCaffrey   89'
Report Referee: Rob Rogers
13 October 2012 Round 31 Dundalk 2–2 Bohemians Oriel Park, Dundalk
S. Maher   26'
B. McKenna   84'
Report E. McMillan   47'
D. Corcoran   75'
Attendance: 250 (estimated)
Referee: Dave McKeon
19 October 2012 Round 32 Cork City 3–0 Dundalk Turners Cross, Cork
G. Morrissey   23'
V. Sullivan   28'
S. Duggan   49'
Report Attendance: 2,782
Referee: Padraigh Sutton
26 October 2012 Round 33 Dundalk 2–1 Bray Wanderers Oriel Park, Dundalk
19:45 IST M. Rafter   51'
B. Conlon   51'
(Report) K. Waters   70' Attendance: 260
Referee: Derek Tomney

Final Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sligo Rovers (C) 30 17 10 3 53 23 +30 61 Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round
2 Drogheda United 30 17 6 7 51 36 +15 57 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3 St Patrick's Athletic 30 15 10 5 44 22 +22 55
4 Shamrock Rovers 30 14 10 6 56 37 +19 52
5 Derry City 30 11 6 13 36 36 0 39 Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round[a]
6 Cork City 30 8 12 10 38 36 +2 36
7 Bohemians 30 9 9 12 35 38 −3 36
8 Shelbourne 30 9 8 13 35 43 −8 35
9 UCD 30 8 7 15 32 48 −16 31
10 Bray Wanderers 30 5 10 15 33 54 −21 25
11 Dundalk (O) 30 4 8 18 23 63 −40 20 Qualification to Relegation play-off
12 Monaghan United (R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew from league[b]
Source: [5][6]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Derry City qualified for the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round after winning the 2012 FAI Cup Final.
  2. ^ Monaghan United withdrew after 14 games. Their record was expunged.

Promotion/relegation play-off

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30 October 2012 1st leg Dundalk 2–2 Waterford United Oriel Park, Dundalk
L. Shannon   22'
S. Maher   33'
S. McDonnell   75'
Report P. Phelan   49'
B. Ryan   60'
Attendance: 1,500 (estimated)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
2 November 2012 2nd leg Waterford United 0–2 Dundalk Waterford Regional Sports Centre, Waterford
Report M. Rafter   45', 69' Attendance: 2,728
Referee: Padraigh Sutton

Dundalk won the play-off 4–2 on aggregate and remained in the Premier Division

25 May 2012 2nd Round Dundalk 1–0 St. Patrick's CYFC Oriel Park, Dundalk
J. Mountney   49' Report S. Dunne   88' Attendance: 300 (estimated)
Referee: Tom Connolly
24 August 2012 3rd Round Malahide United 0–4 Dundalk Gannon Park
Report G. Shanahan   9'
M. Griffin   45+1'
L. Shannon   75'
B. McKenna   90'
Attendance: 450
Referee: James McKell
14 September 2012 Quarter-finals Bohemians 0–1 Dundalk Dalymount Park, Phibsborough
Report M. Griffin   75' Attendance: 1,108
Referee: Derek Tomney
7 October 2012 Semi-finals Dundalk 0–3 St Patrick's Athletic Oriel Park, Dundalk
Report K. Browne   20'
G. Bolger   52'
S. O'Connor   85'
Attendance: 2,035
Referee: Alan Kelly
10 April 2012 2nd Round Longford Town 1–2 Dundalk Flancare Park, Longford
S. Skelly   3' Report G. Shanahan   22', 53' Attendance: 300 (estimated)
Referee: Richie Winter
25 June 2012 Quarter-finals Drogheda United 1–1
(3–2 p)
Dundalk Hunky Dorys Park
E. Foley   33' Report M. Griffin   58' Referee: Derek Tomney
Penalties
E. Foley  
R. Brennan  
P. Hynes  
D. Marshall  
G. Brennan  
  J. Mountney
  S. O'Neill
  C. Shields
  P. Walsh
  M. Griffin

Leinster Senior Cup

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19 March 2012 Crumlin United 1–0 Dundalk Captain's Road
D. Griffin   11' Report

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Monaghan United withdraw from league". extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. ^ Blake, Ben (10 July 2012). "For sale: Dundalk board moves to find buyer". The 42. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  3. ^ Stuart, Charlie (13 July 2012). "McCaffrey quits as cash crisis at Dundalk deepens". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Sale of Lease of Dundalk FC". The Irish Independent. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Ireland 2012". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Monaghan United withdraw from league". extratime.ie. Retrieved 18 June 2012.