DUNDALK FC (Oriel Park)

FAI CUP 1st ROUND, DUNDALK 1-0 SHAMROCK ROVERS, ATTENDANCE: 2,686

For my second Irish cup tie of the weekend, after watching Galway United vs Bangor Celtic, I headed north to Dundalk, the county town of County Louth, just a few miles from the border with Northern Ireland.

Stepping out of the train station I couldn't fail to notice the traditional pylon floodlights of Dundalk FC's Oriel Park, which was today's destination.

Shamrock Rovers were the visitors in, arguably, the tie of the round as the two most successful teams in League of Ireland history went head to head. The Hoops lead the way with 20 titles, including lifting the championship in 2022, but second on the list is Dundalk with 14. Shamrock Rovers also hold the record for FAI cup wins, 25, whilst Dundalk have 12 wins of their own and in recent times played in 6 sucessive finals from 2015-2020.

This game was moved to Sunday as Dundalk played in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, where they beat Gibraltar side Bruno's Magpies 3-1 on aggregate. They will also be joined by Shamrock Rovers in the next round as they were eliminated from the Champions League by Breidablik and drop into the UECL as a consequence.

The Lilywhites were founded in 1903 as Dundalk G.N.R, the works team of the Great Northern Railway and, after initially playing in the Leinster Senior League, they joined the League of Ireland in 1926. In 1933 they became the first club outside of Dublin to be crowned champions, and their most recent title came in 2019.

Oriel Park has been home to Dundalk since 1936. The ground is owned by the club but is built on land leased from the Casey family and prior to 1936 was known as Casey's Field. In 2022, when Honorary President Des Casey passed away, the ground reverted to this name until the end of the season.

Oriel Park was packed today for this cup tie that definitely lived up to it's top billing, but not for the reasons expected.

After an even opening period, the first big chance of the game was Johnny Kenny's 18th minute effort that he lobbed over Nathan Sheppard but which came back off the crossbar but, with an open goal at his mercy, Kenny could not direct the rebound into the net and his header flew over and into the crowd behind the goal.

The first goal did arrive shortly after when Hayden Muller fired home from inside the area, after two Rovers defenders each missed a chance to clear the ball that was delivered into the box from a corner kick. 

However, on 31 minutes the game changed completely when Dundalk's Doyle picked up his second yellow card for pulling back a Rovers player. 

It was a backs-to-the-wall job from The Lilywhites from that point on as the game was one way traffic. Rovers though could not find a way through a dogged defence and, when they did Nathan Sheppard was in top form between the sticks.

The Hoops created enough chances to win the tie, or at least warrant extra time, but Dundalk managed to hold on for a superb win.

There was naturally much delight in the bumper crowd inside the ground who, I must say, made some great noise, creating a terrific atmosphere, especially those in the 'shed end'.

On a personal note, there was the added bonus of completing visits to all the grounds of the top division of the League of Ireland for the first time. Its only taken 18 years mind!

Match highlights can be viewed by clicking here

GALWAY UNITED (Eamonn Deacy Park)

FAI CUP 1st ROUND, GALWAY UNITED 4-1 BANGOR CELTIC, ATTENDANCE: c500

This weekend I crossed the Irish Sea for two games in the first round of the FAI Cup and, also, my first competitive action of season 2023/24.

First port of call was Galway and, after catching a morning train from Dublin, I arrived early afternoon for a brisk walk around the city. The city centre was rammed as the Galway International Arts Festival was on and, amongst the events, the streets were lined with people trying to catch a glimpse of a 30ft mechanical dragon.

The soccer club was founded in 1937 as Galway Rovers but did not join the League of Ireland until 1977. The club changed name to Galway United in 1981. In 2011 the club suffered financial difficulties and dropped out of the League before returning as Galway FC in 2014.

When Galway United joined the League of Ireland in 1977 they made Terryland Park, as it was then known, their home. The ground was, and still is, the home of the Galway Football Association. The ground was renamed Eamonn Deacy Park in 2012 after the tragic passing of the former Galway, Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland player. It was Deacy who scored Galway's first ever goal in the League of Ireland against Thurles Town on 2nd October 1977.

Galway United are currently in the second tier of Irish football, after suffering relegation when the League of Ireland was restructured in 2017, but look on course for a return to the top flight this season as they are well ahead in top spot.

For this first round Irish cup tie The Tribesmen's opponents were Bangor Celtic, a club from Crumlin in the Southside of Dublin, who play in the Leinster Senior League.

The glaringly obvious difference between the sides is that Galway are currently mid-season whilst Bangor Celtic are in pre-season and it showed, Galway comfortably going through to the last 16 with this 4-1 victory. It could/should have been more. 

Having said that they were given an almighty scare when Celtic took the lead within the first 2 minutes after Adam Maher's cross (let's be honest) drifted over the 'keeper and into the net.

From that point though Galway dominated and goals from Wassim Aouachria (14) and a Stephen Walsh brace (39, 45) ensured a half-time lead. Killian Brouder (52) headed home a fourth but, surprisingly, that's where the scoring ended.

I must mention the pitch at Deacy Park, it was immaculate today, especially after taking an absolute hammering the previous 24 hours. All credit to the groundstaff. I must admit my heart sank a little seeing the flooded fields as the train rolled into Galway but game was never in doubt!

Luckily there will be no worries for tomorrow's action as Dundalk's Oriel Park has a 3G pitch!

LONGFORD TOWN (Strokestown Road)

LEAGUE OF IRELAND DIVISION ONE, LONGFORD TOWN 1-1 CORK CITY, 

ATTENDANCE: c350

After spending Friday evening in Limerick I headed back to Dublin in order to catch a train to Longford.

As the crow flies, Longford is about 100 miles north of Limerick but for the fast train connections it meant returning to Dublin before heading to the county town.

The journey back to the capital gave a small insight into the standing of domestic league soccer in Ireland. Whilst most soccer clubs struggle to get four figures, the train was rammed with GAA supporters as over 34,000 people headed to Thurles for two hurling quarter finals.

Temperance dude!

The train from Dublin to Longford took around two hours and I arrived around 5pm. I managed a brief walk around town, passing St Mels Cathedral (pictured above right) before stopping in a pub for a non-alcoholic Guinness and a non-alcoholic IPA. They both tasted alright.

Longford Town were founded in 1924 but it wasn't until 60 years later, in 1984, the club joined the League of Ireland. They finished bottom of the league in their debut season and were relegated into the newly formed League of Ireland Division One. The club spent the next 15 seasons in the second tier but in 2000, with current Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny at the helm, the club returned to the top flight of Irish football.

This was the catalyst for cup success over the next few years when the club reached both domestic cup finals in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 they lost the League Cup to 1-0 to St Patricks Athletic before beating the same team 2-0 in the FAI Cup Final. They then claimed both trophies in 2004, beating Bohemians 2-1 in the League Cup Final and beating Waterford United 2-1 to lift the FAI Cup. Incidentally, talking of Bohemians, that is after whom Longford adopted their Black and Red coloured shirts.

Longford Town's home ground is a few of miles out of town on Strokestown Road, alongside the main N5 road. For sponsorship purposes the ground is currently known as Bishopsgate. The stadium was inaugurated in 1994 and redeveloped in 2001, with the completion of the 1,400 capacity main stand.

As much as I was tempted to, I decided against walking from the town centre due to the proximity of the main road, and the lack of a pavement in certain parts. I played it safe by taking a taxi to the ground. A random stranger sorted one out for me, which was great as the clock was ticking past 7pm. The taxi driver that turned up was a Manchester City fan so, naturally, he was still quite pleased as punch after pipping those loveable neighbours of Everton to the Premier League title! Coincidentally, another groundhopper was in the crowd and they were a City fan heading back to Manchester after the game. They very kindly dropped me off back in town afterwards. Apparently this made me a "lucky, lucky bleeder" according to a mate of mine. The luck of the Irish rubbing off on me, perhaps?

I arrived at the ground with loads of time to spare. Cork City were the visitors tonight, knowing that a victory would put them top of the table. However it was the homesters who started the brightest and had the best of the early possession. De Town's Sam Verdon hit the upright early on but it was somewhat against the run of play that Cork took the lead, and what a stunning goal it was too. Cian Baragary cut in from the left hand side and let fly from just outside the area, the ball curling past Luke Dennison in the Longford goal.

Longford still kept pressing and created good chances but the equaliser just would not come. Verdon had an effort cleared off the line and Cristian Magerusan fluffed a golden opportunity. With 5 minutes remaining, the goal that Longford thoroughly deserved finally arrived when Karl Chambers headed home a corner to ensure the game finished all square. A really good watch and I thought the standard of football was better than the previous night's game in Limerick.

It was good to be back in Ireland once again and I thoroughly enjoyed my few days over the water. Sláinte!

click here to see the goals

Here endeth season 2021/22 for me. Thanks for popping by and taking a look at my pictures and scribblings. All being well, I'll  be back in August. Until then, have a great summer and enjoy the sunshine! 🌞