2019 Dundalk F.C. season

Dundalk entered the 2019 season as the reigning League Champions and FAI Cup holders from 2018. They had a new management team of Vinny Perth and the returning John Gill, after Stephen Kenny (the manager since 2013) had resigned to accept the Republic of Ireland U-21 manager's role. The 2019 season was Dundalk's 11th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 84th in all, and their 93rd in the League of Ireland.

Dundalk
2019 season
Vinny Perth, Dundalk manager, celebrating the 2019 league title success with supporters in Oriel Park.
ManagerVinny Perth
Premier Division1st (champions)
FAI CupRunners-up
League CupWinners
President's CupWinners
Champions CupWinners
Leinster Senior CupRound 4
Champions League2Q
Europa League3Q
Top goalscorerLeague:
Patrick Hoban (13)

All:
Patrick Hoban (20)
Highest home attendance4,026 (vs. Shamrock Rovers, 26 April 2019)[1]
← 2018
2020 →

Season summary edit

The new season's curtain raiser - the President's Cup - was played on 9 February in Turners Cross (stadium) between Dundalk and Cork City, the runners-up in both league and cup the previous year. Dundalk won on a 2-1 scoreline.[2] The 36 round League programme commenced on 15 February 2019, and was completed on 25 October 2019. Dundalk retained their title with four games to spare, sealing the title in Oriel Park with a 3–2 victory over Shamrock Rovers on 23 September 2019.[3] They had already won the League Cup, defeating Derry City on penalties in the Brandywell nine days earlier.[4] Chasing a domestic Treble, they were defeated in a penalty shoot-out in the FAI Cup final by Shamrock Rovers.[5] But they ended the season with a comprehensive 7–1 aggregate victory over Northern Irish champions, Linfield, in the inaugural Champions Cup (All-Ireland) – bringing the trophy haul in Perth's rookie season to four.[6]

In Europe Dundalk entered the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. After being seeded in the draw, they faced Riga, drawing the home leg in Oriel Park 0-0. The away leg in Riga was the club's 70th match in European football, which also finished 0-0. After extra-time failed to separate the sides, they won 5–4 in a sudden-death penalty shootout – their first in Europe, becoming the first Irish side to win a tie in that manner.[7] They were knocked out in the second qualifying round by Qarabağ when a 1–1 home draw was followed by a 3–0 defeat away in Baku, which saw them receive a bye into the Europa League Third qualifying round.[8] Their interest in Europe for the season ended there, with a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Slovan Bratislava. Both Qarabağ and Slovan subsequently reached the group stage of the Europa League.[9]

First-Team Squad (2019) edit

Sources:[10][11]

 
2019 squad warm-up before a match in Oriel Park
Squad No. Name Date of Birth Position Debut season League appearances Goals
1   Gary Rogers 25 September 1981 GK 2015 35 0
2   Seán Gannon 11 July 1991 DF 2014 33 1
3   Brian Gartland 4 November 1986 DF 2013 22 2
4   Seán Hoare 15 March 1994 DF 2017 28 4
5   Chris Shields 27 December 1990 MF 2012 29 0
6   Jordan Flores 4 October 1995 MF 2019 16 1
7   Michael Duffy 28 July 1994 MF 2017 34 12
8   John Mountney 22 February 1993 MF 2012 23 6
9   Patrick Hoban 28 July 1991 FW 2013 34 13
10   Jamie McGrath 30 September 1996 MF 2017 26 2
11   Patrick McEleney 26 September 1992 MF 2016 24 2
12   Georgie Kelly 12 November 1996 FW 2018 29 8
14   Dane Massey 17 April 1988 DF 2013 23 2
15   Stephen Folan 14 January 1992 DF 2018 0 0
16   Seán Murray 11 October 1993 MF 2019 25 3
17   Cameron Dummigan 2 June 1996 DF 2019 14 1
18   Robbie Benson 7 May 1992 MF 2016 13 1
20   Aaron McCarey 14 January 1992 GK 2019 1 0
21   Daniel Cleary 9 March 1996 DF 2018 23 2
22   Joe McKee[a] 31 October 1992 MF 2019 5 0
27   Daniel Kelly 21 May 1996 MF 2019 33 9
28   Lido Lotefa 18 April 2000 FW 2019 3 0
29   Dylan Hand 15 March 1999 DF 2019 1 0
30   Ross Treacy 26 September 1998 GK 2018 0 0
33   Dean Jarvis 1 June 1992 DF 2018 19 1
44   Andy Boyle 7 March 1991 DF 2013 8 1

Competitions edit

President's Cup edit

Source:[12]

Cork City1–2Dundalk
K. O'Connor   65' Report   36' Massey
  45+1' Hoban
Attendance: 2,777
Referee: Robert Hennessy

Premier Division edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dundalk (C) 36 27 5 4 73 18 +55 86 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2 Shamrock Rovers 36 23 6 7 62 21 +41 75 Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round[b]
3 Bohemians 36 17 9 10 47 28 +19 60
4 Derry City 36 15 12 9 56 34 +22 57
5 St Patrick's Athletic 36 14 10 12 29 35 −6 52
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[13]
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Loan signing, loan completed in May.
  2. ^ Since the winners of the 2019 FAI Cup (Shamrock Rovers) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the final spot awarded to the Cup winner passed to the next best-placed team i.e fourth-placed team.

FAI Cup edit

Source:[14]

First Round
10 August 2019 Cobh Ramblers0–1 Dundalk Cobh
19:00 Report Georgie Kelly   67' Stadium: St Colman's Park
Referee: Raymond Matthews
Second Round
23 August 2018 Derry City2–3 (a.e.t.) Dundalk Derry
19:45 Greg Sloggett   51'
Darren McCauley   84'
Report Daniel Kelly   33'
Daniel Cleary   53'
Georgie Kelly   117'
Stadium: Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
Referee: Robert Harvey
Quarter Final
9 September 2019 Waterford1–3 Dundalk Waterford
19:45 Maxim Kouogum   56' Report Daniel Kelly   9'   23'   33' Stadium: Regional Sports Centre
Attendance: 954
Referee: Paul Tuite
Semi Final
29 September 2019 Sligo Rovers0–1 Dundalk Sligo
17:00 Report Michael Duffy   89' Stadium: The Showgrounds
Attendance: 4,079
Referee: Rob Harvey
Final
3 November 2019 Dundalk1–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)
Shamrock Rovers Dublin
15:40 Michael Duffy   90+3' Report Aaron McEneff   89 p' Stadium: Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 33,111
Referee: Derek Tomney

League Cup edit

Source:[15]

Second Round
1 April 2019 St Patrick's Athletic1–2 Dundalk Inchicore, Dublin
19:45 GMT James Doona   12' Report Georgie Kelly   6'
Dean Jarvis   34'
Stadium: Richmond Park
Referee: Robert Harvey
Quarter Final
27 May 2019 Dundalk 3–1UCDDundalk
19:45 GMT Brian Gartland  7'
John Mountney  18'
Georgie Kelly   90'
Report Yousef Mahdy   80' Stadium: Oriel Park
Attendance: 500 (estimate)
Referee: David Dunne
Semi Final
19 August 2019 Dundalk 6–1BohemiansDundalk
19:45 Patrick Hoban   4', 10', 14', 51'
Patrick McEleney   42'
Daniel Kelly   71'
Report Ross Tierney   62' Stadium: Oriel Park
Attendance: 1,500 (estimate)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
Final
14 September 2019 Derry City2–2 (a.e.t.)
(5–6 p)
Dundalk Derry
20:00 David Parkhouse   3'
Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe   51'
Report Michael Duffy   38'
Sean Gannon   69'
Stadium: Brandywell Stadium
Attendance: 3,000 (est)
Referee: Robert Hennessy (Dublin)

Champions Cup edit

Source:[16]

8 November 2019 (2019-11-08) First leg  Linfield1–1 Dundalk   Windsor Park, Belfast
20:00 Shayne Lavery   9' Report Daniel Kelly   51' Attendance: 2,819
Referee: Ian McNabb
11 November 2019 (2019-11-11) Second leg   Dundalk 6–0Linfield  Oriel Park, Dundalk
19:05 Georgie Kelly   6'
Brian Gartland   16'
Jamie McGrath   34'
Robbie Benson   65'
Georgie Kelly   75'
Patrick Hoban   85'
Report Attendance: 2,412
Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Dundalk won 7–1 on aggregate.

Leinster Senior Cup edit

Source:[17]

Fourth Round
18 February 2019 Dundalk0–1 Athlone Town Dundalk, County Louth
19:45 GMT Report Dean Williams   66' Stadium: Oriel Park
Attendance: 250 (est.)
Referee: Alan Carey

Europe edit

Champions League edit

First qualifying round
Dundalk  0–0  Riga
Report
Attendance: 3,100
Riga  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Dundalk
Report
Penalties
4–5

0–0 on aggregate. Dundalk won 5–4 on penalties.

Second qualifying round
Dundalk  1–1  Qarabağ
Report
Attendance: 3,100
Qarabağ  3–0  Dundalk
Report
Attendance: 5,832

Qarabağ won 4–1 on aggregate.

Europa League edit

Third qualifying round
Slovan Bratislava  1–0  Dundalk
Report
Attendance: 9,980
Dundalk  1–3  Slovan Bratislava
Report

Awards edit

Player of the Month edit

Month Player Reference
May   Sean Gannon [18]
August   Daniel Cleary [19]
September   Michael Duffy [20]

SWAI Personality of the Year edit

Person Reference
  Vinny Perth [21]

SWAI Goalkeeper of the Year edit

Person Reference
  Gary Rogers [21]

Footnotes edit

References edit

  1. ^ Newberry, Niall (26 April 2019). "League Report: Dundalk 2 – 1 Shamrock Rovers Att: 4,026". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  2. ^ McLaughlin, Gavin (9 February 2019). "As you were as Dundalk FC see off Cork City to get Perth's regime off to a winning start". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  3. ^ McDonnell, Daniel (24 September 2019). "Duffy stunner seals title success for Dundalk". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. ^ McLaughlin, Kevin (14 September 2019). "Dundalk bag EA Sports Cup after shootout win over Derry". RTÉ. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  5. ^ McLaughlin, Gavin (4 November 2019). "Midfield problems hurt Dundalk again as disjointed Lilywhites see treble dream ended on penalties". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  6. ^ McDonnell, Daniel (11 November 2019). "Dundalk 6 Linfield 0 (Dundalk win 7-1 on aggregate)". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. ^ McLaughlin, Gavin (17 July 2019). "Hoare the hero in Dundalk shoot-out victory". RTÉ. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Gavin (1 August 2019). "Vinny determined to make Europa League as Dundalk FC's Champions League hopes go up in flames in Baku". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  9. ^ McLaughlin, Gavin (14 August 2019). "Sobering night for Dundalk FC as ruthless Bratislava send them tumbling out of Europe". Dundalk Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Dundalk FC Squad 2018/2019". www.worldfootball.net. 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  11. ^ "2019 Players and Sponsors". dundalkfc.com. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  12. ^ "2018 PRESIDENTS CUP". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Premier Division 2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  14. ^ "2019 EXTRA.IE FAI CUP". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. ^ "2019 EA SPORTS LEAGUE CUP". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  16. ^ "2019 Dundalk". extratime.ie. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  17. ^ "2019 LEINSTER SENIOR CUP". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  18. ^ "DUNDALK'S SEAN GANNON WINS MAY PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD". The42.ie. 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  19. ^ "DUNDALK DEFENDER DANIEL CLEARY WINS THE PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD". 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  20. ^ "MICHAEL DUFFY AWARDED THE SSE AIRTRICITY/SWAI PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER". 17 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Vinny Perth picks up soccer scribes' prize". www.rte.ie. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.