2015 Dundalk F.C. season

Last updated

Dundalk
2015 season
TrophiesInOriel2015.jpg
President’s Cup, FAI Cup, Leinster Senior Cup & League of Ireland Champions trophy on display in Oriel Park in 2015
Manager Stephen Kenny
Premier Division 1st (champions)
FAI Cup Winners
League Cup Semi-final
President's Cup Winners
Leinster Senior Cup Winners
Champions League 2Q
Top goalscorerLeague:
Richie Towell (25)
All:
Richie Towell (26)
Highest home attendance3,957 (vs. Shamrock Rovers, 1 September 2015) [1]
←  2014
2016  →

Dundalk entered the 2015 season as the reigning League Champions from 2014, having won the title for the first time since 1995, and were also the League Cup holders. 2015 was Stephen Kenny's third season at the club as manager. It was Dundalk's seventh consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 80th in all, and their 89th in the League of Ireland.

Contents

Season summary

The new season's curtain raiser - the President's Cup - was played on 28 February in Oriel Park between Dundalk and St Patrick's Athletic - the winners of the FAI Cup the previous year. Dundalk won on a 2-1 scoreline - their first success in the competition. [2] The 33 round League programme commenced on 6 March 2015, and was completed on 30 October 2015. Dundalk retained the title for the first time in their history, sealing it with three games to spare. [3] They subsequently won the 2015 FAI Cup Final with a 1-0 victory over Cork City after extra time. An opportunity to win the club's first domestic Treble was passed up when a largely reserve side lost the League Cup semi-final in a penalty shoot-out. [4] However they also won the Leinster Senior Cup, defeating Shamrock Rovers 3-1 in the final. The trophy haul for the year made the 2015 season the most successful in their history. [5]

In Europe they were knocked out at the first hurdle, losing to BATE Borisov in the Champions League second qualifying round when, after scoring an away goal in a 2-1 defeat, they were unable to score the goal in Oriel Park that would have sent them through to the next round. [6]

First-Team Squad (2015)

Sources: [7]

Squad No.NameDate of BirthPositionDebut seasonLeague appearancesGoals
1 Flag of Ireland.svg Gary Rogers 25 September 1981 GK 2015310
2 Flag of Ireland.svg Sean Gannon 11 July 1991 DF 2014321
3 Flag of Ireland.svg Brian Gartland 4 November 1986 DF 2013276
4 Flag of Ireland.svg Andy Boyle 7 March 1991 DF 2013331
5 Flag of Ireland.svg Chris Shields 27 December 1990 MF 2012300
6 Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen O'Donnell 15 January 1986 MF 2013242
7 Flag of Ireland.svg Daryl Horgan 10 August 1992 MF 2014339
8 Flag of Ireland.svg John Mountney 22 February 1993 MF 2012333
9 Flag of Ireland.svg David McMillan 14 December 1988 FW 20143312
10 Flag of Ireland.svg Ronan Finn 21 December 1987 MF 2015335
11 Flag of Ireland.svg Kurtis Byrne 9 April 1990 FW 2013140
12 Flag of Ireland.svg Shane Grimes9 March 1987 DF 200540
14 Flag of Ireland.svg Dane Massey 17 April 1988 DF 2013324
15 Flag of Ireland.svg Paddy Barrett 22 July 1993 DF 2015110
16 Flag of Ireland.svg Ciarán Kilduff 29 September 1988 FW 2015124
17 Flag of Ireland.svg Richie Towell 17 July 1991 MF 20133225
19 Flag of Ireland.svg Sean Maguire 1 May 1994 FW 201560
21 Flag of Ireland.svg Darren Meenan1 October 1991 MF 2013283
22 Flag of Romania.svg Gabriel Sava 15 September 1986 GK 201430
28 Flag of Ireland.svg Georgie Poynton 8 September 1997 MF 201320

Competitions

President's Cup

Source: [8]

28 February 2015 Dundalk 2–1 St Patrick's Athletic Oriel Park
TBC GMT Horgan Soccerball shade.svg36' Towell Soccerball shade.svg38' Report Forrester Soccerball shade.svg35'Attendance: 1,800 (estimate)
Referee: Tomas Connolly

Premier Division

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 Dundalk (C)3323917823+5578Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round [lower-alpha 1]
2 Cork City 33191045725+3267Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
3 Shamrock Rovers 33181145627+2965
4 St Patrick's Athletic 33184115234+1858
5 Bohemians 33158104942+753
6 Longford Town 33109144153−1239
7 Derry City 3398163242−1035
8 Bray Wanderers 3396182751−2433
9 Sligo Rovers 33710163955−1631
10 Galway United 3394203961−2231
11 Limerick (R)3378184673−2729Qualification to Relegation play-offs
12 Drogheda United (R)3377193262−3028Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: League of Ireland, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored. [9]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Dundalk qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015 FAI Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.

FAI Cup

Source: [8]

Second Round
Third Round
21 August Galway United 1–4 Dundalk Eamonn Deacy Park
Report Attendance: 761
Referee: Robert Rogers
Quarter Final
Semi Final
Final
8 November 2015 Dundalk 1–0 (a.e.t.) Cork City Aviva Stadium
15:30 Richie Towell Soccerball shade.svg107' Report Attendance: 25,103
Referee: David McKeon

League Cup

Source: [8]

Second Round
7 April 2015 Dundalk 1–0 Shelbourne Oriel Park
19:45John Mountney Soccerball shade.svg11' Report Attendance: 697
Referee: Rob Harvey
Quarter Final
18 May 2015 UCC 0–5 Dundalk The Mardyke
20:00 Report Ciaran O'Connor Soccerball shade.svg3'
Jake Kelly Soccerball shade.svg13'
Paddy Barrett Soccerball shade.svg36'
Paddy Barrett Soccerball shade.svg55'
Kurtis Byrne Soccerball shade.svg78'		Attendance: 650 (Est.)
Referee: David Keeler
Semi Final
3 August 2015 Galway United 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)		 Dundalk Eamonn Deacy Park
17:00Alex Byrne Yellow card.svg 113' Report Ronan Finn Yellow card.svg 44'
Darren Meenan Yellow card.svg 78'		Referee: Ray Matthews
Penalties
Stephen Walsh Soccerball shad check.svg
David O'Leary Soccerball shad check.svg
Jake Keegan Soccerball shad check.svg
Colm Horgan Soccerball shad check.svg		Ronan Finn Soccerball shade cross.svg
David McMillan Soccerball shade cross.svg
Daryl Horgan Soccerball shad check.svg
John Mountney Soccerball shad check.svg

Leinster Senior Cup

Source: [8]

Fourth Round
10 February 2015 Dundalk 2–1 UCD Dundalk
19:45 GMT Ronan Finn Soccerball shade.svg74'
David McMillan Soccerball shade.svg83'		 Report Dylan Watts Soccerball shade.svg15'Stadium: Oriel Park
Referee: Robert Harvey
Quarter Final
16 March 2015 Wexford 0–3 Dundalk Wexford
19:45 GMT Report Ciaran O'Connor Soccerball shade.svg16'
Shane Grimes Soccerball shade.svg57'
Shane Grimes Soccerball shade.svg88'		Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park
Semi Final
Final
26 October 2015 Dundalk 3–1 Shamrock Rovers Dundalk
19:45 GMT Kurtis Byrne Soccerball shade.svg53'
Kurtis Byrne Soccerball shade.svg56'
Chris Shields Soccerball shade.svg90+5'		 Report Aaron Dobbs Soccerball shade.svg81'Stadium: Oriel Park
Attendance: 963
Referee: Simon Rogers

Europe

Champions League

Source: [8]

Second qualifying round
BATE Borisov Flag of Belarus.svg 2–1 Flag of Ireland.svg Dundalk
Karnitsky Soccerball shade.svg11'
Yablonskiy Soccerball shade.svg38'		 Report McMillan Soccerball shade.svg32'
Attendance: 11,421
Dundalk Flag of Ireland.svg 0–0 Flag of Belarus.svg BATE Borisov
Report
Attendance: 3,103

BATE Borisov won 2–1 on aggregate.

Awards

Player of the Month

MonthNationalityPlayerReference
MarchFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland David McMillan [10]
AprilFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Richie Towell [11]
MayFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Daryl Horgan [12]
SeptemberFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Richie Towell [13]
NovemberFlag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Richie Towell [14]

PFAI Player of the Year

PlayerReference
Flag of Ireland.svg Richie Towell [15]

FAI League of Ireland Player of the Year

PlayerReference
Flag of Ireland.svg Richie Towell [16]

SWAI Personality of the Year

PersonReference
Flag of Ireland.svg Richie Towell [17]

RTÉ Sports Team of the Year

TeamReference
Flag of Ireland.svg Dundalk F.C. [18]

Footnotes

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    References

    1. ↑ Newberry, Niall (2 September 2015). "League Report: Dundalk 2 - 0 Shamrock Rovers". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
    2. ↑ "Dundalk 2 - 1 St. Patrick's Athletic". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    3. ↑ Donnelly, Dave. "League Report: Shamrock Rovers 1 - 1 Dundalk". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    4. ↑ Dolan, Josh. "FAI Cup Final Report: Cork City 0-1 Dundalk A.E.T." www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    5. ↑ Fisher, Ciaran. "Leinster Senior Cup Final Report: Dundalk 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    6. ↑ Fisher, Ciaran. "Champions League Report: Dundalk 0-0 BATE Borisov". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    7. ↑ "Dundalk FC Squad 2015". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
    8. 1 2 3 4 5 "DUNDALK 2015". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    9. ↑ "PREMIER DIVISION 2015 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
    10. ↑ "DAVID MCMILLAN NAMED SSE AIRTRICITY PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH". www.sseireland.com. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    11. ↑ "No prizes for guessing the Airtricity League Player of the Month for April". www.the42.ie. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    12. ↑ "Daryl Horgan player of the month for May". www.rte.ie. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    13. ↑ "Richie Towell named Player of Month for September". www.rte.ie. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    14. ↑ "TOWELL NAMED SWAI PLAYER OF THE MONTH". www.dundalkfc.com. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    15. ↑ "Towell named PFAI Player of the Year". www.the42.ie. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
    16. ↑ Newberry, Niall (24 March 2016). "Richie Towell delighted to secure 2015 SSE Airtricity League Player of the Year". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
    17. ↑ "Richie Towell is the Irish Soccer Writers' Personality of the Year for 2015". www.the42.ie. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
    18. ↑ "DUNDALK SECURE RTÉ SPORT TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD". www.dundalkfc.com. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
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