Dundalk set new League of Ireland scoring record

Dundalk finally got their hands on the Premier Division title they retained earlier this month when they ran out 4-0 winners against Bray Wanderers at Oriel Park tonight.

The result also meant a new record for the Lilywhites who have now scored the most goals in a League of Ireland season

Strikes from Ciaran Kilduff and Daryl Horgan had Stephen Kenny’s side 2-0 up after just nine minutes but it took a late brace from Richie Towell to take Dundalk’s goal tally for the campaign to 78 – one more than the previous record set by Shamrock Rovers in 1922/23.

Kilduff set the ball rolling when he tapped in Darren Meenan’s cross in the fifth minute before Horgan added a second four minutes later after a slack back pass.

Despite plenty of pressure, the third goal didn’t arrive until 10 minutes from the end though when Towell slotted home a penalty.

He then fired home in the 89^th minute for his 25^th league goal of the season and Dundalk’s record breaking 78^th.

Captain Stephen O’Donnell collected the title afterwards and here’s hoping he’s lifting the FAI Cup as well on Sunday week.

Dundalk FC request fans stay off the pitch for trophy presentation

It will be a night of celebration at Oriel Park tonight as Dundalk FC collect the Premier Division title following their match with Bray Wanderers.

While Stephen Kenny’s side retained their crown after drawing with Shamrock Rovers earlier this month, the trophy will only be handed back to them this evening.

The club have issued a notice asking supporters to stay off the pitch for the presentation.

A statement on dundalkfc.com said: “The club is determined that every effort will be made to ensure that all fans can enjoy the presentation celebration on Friday. “We must ensure everybody’s safety. This includes our players who still have another hard week of training ahead of our FAI Cup Final appearance with Cork City!

“The players and management of Dundalk Football Club will complete a lap of honour on the pitch once the presentation is complete.

“As well as potentially causing us to cancel the presentation, the club will face a very large fine if supporters enter the playing area. We have also received a number of fines in recent weeks regarding the use of flares. As it is Halloween weekend we must remind everybody that the club has a strict policy on the use of flares and pyros and we ask that no flares are let off in the ground.

“Please help us make it another night to remember! C’mon The Town!”

Kick-off tonight is at 7.45pm.

Dundalk midfielder Towell to miss out on clash with Galway Utd tonight

Richie Towell

Dundalk top scorer Richie Towell will miss tonight’s clash with Galway Utd at Oriel Park after being diagnosed with pleurisy.

The midfielder is hoping to return to full training on Monday, however, after initial fears that he could miss next month’s FAI Cup final.

Towell was out shopping with his girlfriend Kelly earlier in the week when he was struck with chest pains that saw him require immediate medical attention.

The 24-year-old was struggling for breath and there were initial concerns that he had suffered a collapsed lung.

However, he has since been diagnosed with pleurisy – an inflamation around the lungs which causes sharp chest pain.

According to The Irish Independent, doctors believe it may have been a delayed reaction to a heavy knock in last Friday’s clash with Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght, a game which saw him score from the spot late on to secure the league title for Stephen Kenny’s side.

Meanwhile, tickets for the FAI Cup final against Cork City on Sunday November 8th will be on sale from Oriel Park before and after tonight’s game with Galway Utd.

Dundalk FC Magazine named programme of the year for sixth consecutive season

A preview of Friday night’s programme for the game with Galway Utd

The Dundalk FC Magazine has been voted the Premier Division Programme of the Year for the sixth year running by the Irish Programme Club.

The €3 programme is a huge favourite with both home and visiting supporters to Oriel Park at each home match.

Commenting on its latest honour, club secretary Colm Murphy – a member of the editorial team – praised all those involved.

He said: “The team running the Dundalk FC Programme have been together for over ten years now since the First Division years. Run on a voluntary basis, the people involved in the Magazine are spread all over the world!

“Much of the design work is completed by David Farrelly, originally from the Carrick Road but now living in Switzerland. David has been a driving force of the programme for many years.  He has other valuable graphical assistance from Ranald Graham in London and Misha Sipovich in Moscow!

“Closer to home, Paul Dunne of the Tallaght Lilywhites puts together much of the front end of the programme (while also spotting most of our mistakes) while the long-standing Dundalk FC graphical “guru” Ruth Hardy designs our covers and the historical statistic pages.

“We have some exceptional contributors to the Magazine who we constantly hassle for articles – often very late at night! Many thanks to Jim Murphy, Darren Crawley, Anthony Bravender, Aidan McGuinness, Niall Newberry and Sean DeLoughry. Sean has managed to go through a couple of seasons now without upsetting anybody or getting us threatened with legal action with his Spectator article! Many thanks also to Stephen Kenny and his staff and players for their contributions and co-operation.

“We are hugely indebted to Ray McManus and Paul Mohan from Sportsfile for the use of their exceptional photographs throughout the season. Many thanks also to Ciaran Culligan, Nigel Caldwell and David Caldwell for the use of their photographs.

“We rely upon a great team on match nights to sell the programmes. Many thanks to Helen Myers, Paddy O’Neill, Roy Mackin, Jimmy Neary, Stephen Neary, Brian O’Hanrahan and Simon Blackmore.

“The magazine is a crucial fundraiser for Dundalk FC and we appreciate all the sponsors who advertise in the Magazine. Of course, most importantly, we’d like to thank every supporter who buys a copy of the programme at every match.  Speaking of which…we have another great issue on sale at the Galway match! It’s only €3 and all profits go back to Dundalk FC!”

Towell penalty secures two in-a-row for Dundalk

Dundalk FC celebrate their title success in Tallaght last night

History was created in Tallaght Stadium last night as Dundalk FC secured the result required to retain the title for the first time in their history.

It looked as though Shamrock Rovers were going to put celebrations on hold for Stephen Kenny’s side when Danny North scored from close range just after the restart after Brandon Miele’s effort had been pushed into his path by Gary Rogers.

However, a Pat Cregg foul on Darren Meenan saw Dundalk awarded a penalty in the 84th minute with Richie Towell dispatching it to the bottom right hand corner to make it 1-1.

That result, coupled with Cork City’s failure to beat Drogheda Utd in United Park, means Dundalk have won the league with three games to spare.

The 800 Dundalk fans who made the trip to Tallaght Stadium had to wait for the final whistle from United Park to confirm the title triumph but when news of it came through there was euphoric scenes with the players hoisting manager Stephen Kenny in the air.

Congratulations to all involved.

Rovers urge Dundalk fans without a ticket not to travel to Tallaght as away allocation sells out

Shamrock Rovers have issued a warning to Dundalk supporters without tickets not to travel to Friday night’s potential title-deciding clash in Tallaght Stadium.

Just 800 tickets were issued to Lilywhites fans for the game, which could see Stephen Kenny’s side retain their title with a win.

All of Dundalk’s allocation of tickets were snapped up by season ticket holders prior to going on general sale, leaving hundreds of supporters disappointed.

Many had been intending to travel and buy general tickets on the night but Rovers have warned that these are being issued to “home supporters only” with any away fan set to be immediately ejected from the ground if they make it into the stadium.

A notice on the Tallaght outfit’s Facebook page last night read: “All away fans tickets have been sent to Dundalk FC for distribution to away fans. There is strict segregation of away fans at Tallaght Stadium with all 800 Dundalk tickets in the north end of the Main Stand.

“There will be a strict ejection policy in operation on match night to remove any away fans who are not in their allocated area.”

Friday’s game kicks off at 7.45pm and will be shown live on RTÉ Two.

Meanwhile, in the build up to the game Dundalk FC videographer Harry Taaffe has put together a superb motivational video with some of the best images of the Stephen Kenny era. Titled ‘Inch by Inch’ it will really get your juices flowing for Friday night. Check it out above.

Dundalk sell-out away allocation for Shamrock Rovers trip

Away tickets for Dundalk’s clash with Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium on Friday night have sold out just hours after going on sale.

The tickets went on sale to season ticket holders from 9am this morning and had been expected to go on general sale tomorrow. However, they sold out just after lunchtime.

It is reported that Shamrock Rovers only allocated 700 tickets to Stephen Kenny’s side for the game, which would see Dundalk land the title if they won.

The club are hopeful that further tickets will be announced in the coming days.

The game is being broadcast on RTÉ Two at 7.45pm.

Dundalk book FAI Cup final place after seeing off Longford

Dundalk can look forward to an FAI Cup final appearance in the Aviva Stadium next month after seeing off Longford Town 2-0 in Oriel Park tonight.

Stephen Kenny’s side will now meet the winners of Sunday’s second semi-final between Bray Wanderers and Cork City on November 8^th with a real chance of winning their first league and cup double since 1988.

Ciaran Kilduff fired wide with a good early chance for the home side but they eventually found their way through a dogged Longford rearguard in the 36^th minute when Paddy Barrett headed home from Daryl Horgan’s corner.

The Lilywhites then doubled their advantage in somewhat fortuitious fashion four minutes into the second half when Ronan Finn’s shot took a wicked deflection off Pat Sullivan to fly past Paul Skinner to the roof of the net.

Dundalk can wrap up the league title by winning away to Shamrock Rovers next Friday night. Tickets for that game will go on sale to season ticket holders on Monday, with the general ticket sale starting on Tuesday.

Dundalk one game away from title after Limerick win

Dundalk recovered from the worst possible start to run out 3-1 winners away to bottom of the table Limerick FC in Markets Field last night.

The victory, inspired by three goals in six minutes in the closing quarter, means Stephen Kenny’s side are one win away from retaining the title for the first time in the club’s history – a feat they will manage by beating Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght on October 9th.

Dundalk had to do things the hard way as they fell behind to a Dean Clarke goal inside the opening two minutes.

The visitors pressed hard for an equaliser after that but it didn’t arrive until the 76th minute when Richie To well raced onto Ciaran Kilduff’s knock down to slot home.

Towell then made it a club record 21 league goals for the campaign four minutes later when his deflected shot from a tight angle flew to the net.

Kilduff then made sure of the win two minutes later by beating the offside trap to slot home.

Dundalk manager backs proposals for new European competition

Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny with Ireland boss Martin O’Neill

Dundalk FC manager Stephen Kenny has backed UEFA’s proposals for a third European club competition for sides knocked out of the Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds.

Talks about the proposed new tournament took place in Malta this week and while it would be 2018 before a new competition is launched, it would potentially give Irish sides a prolonged run in Europe.

Speaking to the Irish Daily Mirror about the subject today, Kenny said it was something that Irish clubs could not ignore.

He said: “I don’t think anyone in this league is in a position to dismiss the idea but more detail is needed.

“Whatever happens, you wouldn’t want anything to dilute the ambition of clubs striving to be successful in Europe. You wouldn’t want to be ‘settling’ for it.

“You must have that ambition to improve and try to get to the Europa League group stage or the Champions League, which is another step up.”

Kenny added that his side would have benefitted from more European matches this season. You can read the full article here.

Meanwhile, Dundalk’s Leinster Senior Cup semi-final clash away to St Patrick’s Athletic has been fixed for Tuesday evening at 7.45pm in Richmond Park.

The Lilywhites host Drogheda Utd in the league tonight at Oriel Park, where kick off is at 7.25pm to facilitate TV coverage.