2021 Dundalk F.C. season

Dundalk entered the 2021 season as the FAI Cup holders, and were still the League of Ireland Cup holders, having won it in 2019, because of the competition not running in 2020. Having qualified for European football for the eighth season in a row, they were entered in the new UEFA Europa Conference League. 2021 was Dundalk's 13th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 86th in all, and their 95th in the League of Ireland.

Dundalk
2021 season
Team ManagerShane Keegan (until 17 April)
Jim Magilton (Interim from 19 April)
Vinny Perth (from 16 June)
Premier Division6th
FAI CupSemi final
President's CupWinners
Conference LeagueQR3
Top goalscorerLeague: Patrick Hoban (12)
All: Patrick Hoban (20)
Highest home attendance3,600 (est) (Vs. Derry City, 19 November 2021)

Jim Magilton was the club's new Sporting Director going into the new term, having taken up the role at the end of the 2020 season. Shane Keegan was named the First Team Manager at the beginning of the season, replacing Interim Head Coach from 2020, Filippo Giovagnoli, who was retained as First Team Coach. Giovagnoli could not be named manager because he did not hold a UEFA Pro Licence.

Season summary

For the second season in a row, both the League of Ireland Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup were deferred because of delays and restrictions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

Having not been held in 2020, the President's Cup (the traditional season curtain-raiser) was played on 12 March between League Champions Shamrock Rovers and FAI Cup holders Dundalk. Dundalk won the match on penalties, 4–3, after it had finished 1–1 in 90 minutes.[2]

The league season started a week later on 19 March 2021 and after a run of defeats at the start of the league campaign, which saw Dundalk lie second from bottom after five matches, both Keegan and Giovagnoli resigned. Sporting Director Jim Magilton assumed a caretaker manager role, pending the appointment of a new manager.[3] On 16 June, Vinny Perth, who had been sacked midway through the previous season, returned to the club as manager.[4] They continued to struggle in the league and were briefly threatened with a promotion/relegation play-off,[5] before recovering somewhat to end the season in sixth place.[6]

In the FAI Cup, a run of six appearances in a row in the final (a joint record for the competition) was ended when they were knocked out at the semi-final stage by St Patrick's Athletic, managed by former captain Stephen O'Donnell.[7]

In Europe, they defeated Newtown A.F.C. of Wales in the first qualifying round of the new Europa Conference League 5–0 on aggregate, which included a club European record equaling 4–0 victory in the first leg.[8] In the second qualifying round, they overcame Levadia Tallinn 4–3 on aggregate with Will Patching scoring a stoppage time winner in the second leg in Estonia.[9] They were knocked out in the third qualifying round by Vitesse Arnhem, 4–3 on aggregate, after a 2–1 defeat in the second leg at 'home' in Tallaght Stadium, which saw a Michael Duffy goal after 40 seconds incorrectly disallowed for offside.[10]

Before the season ended, the club was returned to local ownership when a consortium led by former co-owner Andy Connolly and sports technology firm STATSports agreed a takeover with Peak6. Sporting Director Jim Magilton left the club in the aftermath of the takeover.[11]

First-Team Squad (2021)

Sources:[12][13][14] Note: Substitute appearances in brackets

No. Name DOB Pos. Debut League FAI Cup Europe Others Totals
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 Albania Alessio Abibi 4 December 1996 GK 2021 200106010280
3 Republic of Ireland Brian Gartland 4 November 1986 DF 2013 1000000010
4 Republic of Ireland Andy Boyle 7 March 1991 DF 2013 351406010461
5 Republic of Ireland Chris Shields[lower-alpha 1] 27 December 1990 MF 2012 163000010173
6 Faroe Islands Sonni Nattestad 5 August 1994 DF 2021 8 (5)01 (1)06011221
7 Republic of Ireland Michael Duffy 28 July 1994 MF 2017 31 (3)4314200417
8 Scotland Sam Stanton 19 April 1994 MF 2021 25 (4)1406010401
9 Republic of Ireland Patrick Hoban 28 July 1991 FW 2013 26 (1)12471 (2)10 (1)03520
10 Republic of Ireland Greg Sloggett 3 July 1996 MF 2020 21 (8)14 (1)03 (1)00 (1)0391
11 Republic of Ireland Patrick McEleney 26 September 1992 MF 2016 17 (4)20 (1)16210295
12 Scotland Cameron Yates 14 February 1999 GK 2021 1010000020
13 Latvia Raivis Jurkovskis 7 December 1996 DF 2021 26 (2)04 (1)05 (1)010400
14 Scotland Peter Cherrie 1 October 1983 GK 2009 150300000180
15 Republic of Ireland Darragh Leahy 15 April 1998 DF 2020 18 (5)03 (1)06010340
16 Republic of Ireland Seán Murray 11 October 1993 MF 2019 17 (10)6420 (3)000348
17 Norway Ole Erik Midtskogen[lower-alpha 2] 12 April 1995 FW 2021 5 (7)1100 (3)000161
17 Morocco Sami Ben Amar[lower-alpha 3] 2 March 1998 FW 2021 8 (6)12 (1)10000172
18 England Will Patching[lower-alpha 4] 18 October 1998 MF 2020 15 (1)03 (1)05300253
19 Central African Republic Wilfried Zahibo[lower-alpha 5] 21 August 1993 MF 2021 6 (6)01 (1)01 (4)000190
20 England Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe[lower-alpha 6] 3 March 1994 FW 2021 5 (7)2000010132
21 Republic of Ireland Daniel Cleary 9 March 1996 DF 2018 241200010271
23 Northern Ireland Cameron Dummigan 2 June 1996 DF 2019 26 (3)0501 (1)00 (1)0370
24 Republic of Ireland Mayowa Animasahun[lower-alpha 7] 8 August 2003 DF 2021 0 (6)01 (2)0000090
25 Republic of Ireland Val Adedokun[lower-alpha 8] 14 February 2003 MF 2020 4 (2)00 (1)00 (1)00080
27 Republic of Ireland Daniel Kelly 21 May 1996 MF 2019 12 (7)31 (1)05 (1)000273
28 Republic of Ireland Ryan O'Kane 16 August 2003 MF 2021 1 (7)00 (1)00 (1)000100
29 Republic of Ireland David McMillan 14 December 1988 FW 2015 9 (11)41 (1)05 (1)310297
77 South Korea Jeongwoo Han[lower-alpha 9] 26 December 1998 FW 2021 6 (7)1210 (2)100173
90 United States Jesús Pérez[lower-alpha 10] 1 October 1997 MF 2021 0 (2)000000020
  1. transferred to Linfield on 1 July 2021
  2. departed club 13 August 2021
  3. signed for the club 17 August 2021
  4. on loan at Derry City until 1 July 2021
  5. signed 17 April 2021
  6. on loan to Derry City as of 1 July 2021
  7. signed professional contract on 10 August 2021
  8. transferred to Brentford on 24 August 2021
  9. signed 25 March 2021
  10. on loan to Forward Madison as of 1 July 2021

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
12 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Andrew Quinn (at Bray Wanderers until 31 December 2021)
20 FW England ENG Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe (at Derry City until 31 December 2021)
22 MF United States USA Taner Dogan (at Forward Madison until 31 December 2021)
90 MF United States USA Jesús Pérez (at Forward Madison until 31 December 2021)
DF Canada CAN Terique Mohammed (at York United until 31 December 2021)

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss

President's Cup

12 March 2021 Shamrock Rovers1–1
(3–4 p)
Dundalk Tallaght Stadium
19:45 GMT Danny Mandroiu Yellow card 22'
Liam Scales 47'
Chris McCann Yellow card 59'
Joey O'Brien Yellow card 60'
Report Raivis Jurkovskis Yellow card 26'
Daniel Cleary Yellow card 32'
Sonni Nattestad 42'
Sonni Nattestad Red card 59'
Chris Shields Yellow card 60'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Damien MacGraith
Penalties
Dylan Watts soccer ball with check mark
Aaron Greene soccer ball with check mark
Joey O'Brien soccer ball with check mark
Rory Gaffney soccer ball with red X
Graham Burke soccer ball with red X
Roberto Lopes soccer ball with red X
soccer ball with check mark Patrick Hoban
soccer ball with red X Greg Sloggett
soccer ball with check mark Daniel Cleary
soccer ball with check mark Chris Shields
soccer ball with red X Andy Boyle
soccer ball with check mark Darragh Leahy

Premier Division

20 March 2021 Round 1 Sligo Rovers 1–1 Dundalk The Showgrounds
18:00 Romeo Parkes 23' Report Patrick McEleney 16' Attendance: 0
Referee: Neil Doyle
26 March 2021 Round 2 Dundalk 1–2 Finn Harps Oriel Park
17:45 Patrick Hoban 48' Report Adam Foley 43', 63' Attendance: 0
Referee: Derek Tomney
2 April 2021 Round 3 Shamrock Rovers 2–1 Dundalk Tallaght Stadium
19:45 Danny Mandroiu 35'
Dylan Watts 76'
Report Patrick Hoban 89' Attendance: 0
Referee: Paul McLoughlin
9 April 2021 Round 4 Dundalk 0–1 Bohemians Oriel Park
19:45 Report Georgie Kelly 13' (pen.) Attendance: 0
Referee: Rob Harvey
17 April 2021 Round 5 Dundalk 1–1 St Patrick's Athletic Oriel Park
18:00 Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe 85' Report Sam Bone 59' Attendance: 0
Referee: Damien MacGraith
20 April 2021 Round 6 Derry City 1–1 Dundalk Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
19:45 Cameron McJannet 61' Report David McMillan 54' Attendance: 0
Referee: Rob Hennessy
24 April 2021 Round 7 Dundalk 2–1 Drogheda United Oriel Park
18:00 David McMillan 24'
Jeongwoo Han 71'
Report Chris Lyons 90' Attendance: 0
Referee: Adriano Reale
30 April 2021 Round 8 Waterford 0–3 Dundalk Waterford Regional Sports Centre
19:45 Report Andy Boyle 25'
Chris Shields 43' (pen.)
Michael Duffy 46'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Derek Tomney
3 May 2021 Round 9 Longford Town 2–2 Dundalk Bishopsgate
17:45 Dylan Grimes 6'
Rob Manley 14'
Report Junior 20'
Chris Shields 81'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Damien MacGraith
7 May 2021 Round 10 Dundalk 0–1 Sligo Rovers Oriel Park
19:45 Report Jordan Gibson 39'
Garry Buckley Red card 53'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Robert Hennessy
14 May 2021 Round 11 Finn Harps 1–1 Dundalk Finn Park
17:45 Barry McNamee 19' Report Ole Erik Midstkogen 49' Attendance: 0
Referee: Neil Doyle
21 May 2021 Round 12 Dundalk 2–1 Shamrock Rovers Oriel Park
19:45 Patrick McEleney 11'
Daniel Kelly 59'
Report Joey O'Brien 13' Attendance: 0
Referee: Rob Harvey
24 May 2021 Round 13 Bohemians 5–1 Dundalk Dalymount Park
17:45 Georgie Kelly 5', 50', 64'
Tyreke Wilson 51'
Promise Omochere 90'
Tyreke Wilson Red card 51'
Report Greg Sloggett 80'
Cameron Dummigan Red card 74'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ben Connolly
28 May 2021 Round 14 St Patrick's Athletic 0–2 Dundalk Richmond Park
19:45 Report Sam Bone o.g. 32'
David McMillan 51'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Neil Doyle
12 June 2021 Round 15 Dundalk 1–3 Waterford Oriel Park
19:45 Patrick Hoban 30' (pen.) Report John Martin 44', 75'
Shane Griffin 62'
Attendance: 100
Referee: John McLoughlin
19 June 2021 Round 16 Dundalk 1–1 Longford Town Oriel Park
19:45 Chris Shields 28' Report Aaron McNally 12' Attendance: 100
Referee: Robert Hennessy
21 June 2021 Round 17 Drogheda United 0–1 Dundalk Head In The Game Park
19:45 Report Michael Duffy 35' Attendance: 100
Referee: Graham Kelly
25 June 2021 Round 18 Dundalk 2–1 Derry City Oriel Park
19:45 Daniel Kelly 36'
Patrick Hoban 56' (pen.)
Report Eoin Toal 60' Attendance: 100
Referee: Rob Harvey
2 July 2021 Round 19 Shamrock Rovers 3–1 Dundalk Tallaght Stadium
19:45 Liam Scales 37'
Sean Gannon 45'
Aaron Greene 75'
Report Patrick Hoban 11' Attendance: 1000
Referee: Damien MacGraith
17 July 2021 Round 20 Dundalk 1–0 Finn Harps Oriel Park
16:00 David McMillan 33' Report Attendance: 200
Referee: Rob Harvey
8 August 2021 Round 21 Dundalk 1–4 St Patrick's Athletic Oriel Park
15:00 Patrick Hoban 25' Report Melvin-Lambert 11'
Smith 41', 79'
Forrester 71' (pen.)
Attendance: 200
Referee: Rob Harvey
15 August 2021 Round 22 Derry City 1–0 Dundalk Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
15:00 McGonigle 50' (pen.) Report Attendance: 1,150
Referee: Damien MacGraith
20 August 2021 Round 23 Dundalk 1–2 Drogheda United Oriel Park
19:45 Michael Duffy 58' Report Mark Doyle 35', 56' Attendance: 500
Referee: Ben Connolly
3 September 2021 Round 24 Waterford 1–1 Dundalk Waterford Regional Sports Centre
19:45 Wordsworth 77' Report Sean Murray 5' Attendance: 1,800 (est)
Referee: John McLoughlin
11 September 2021 Round 25 Longford Town 1–0 Dundalk Bishopsgate
19:30 O'Driscoll 45'
Robinson Red card 56'
Manley Red card 85'
Report Jeongwoo Han Red card 90' Attendance: 1,000 (est)
Referee: Derek Tomney
15 September 2021 Round 26 Sligo Rovers 2–1 Dundalk The Showgrounds
19:45 Andre Wright 20'
Lewis Banks 52'
Report Patrick Hoban 18' Attendance: 1,650
Referee: Ben Connolly
24 September 2021 Round 27 Dundalk 4–1 Sligo Rovers Oriel Park
19:45 Sean Murray 12', 20'
Patrick Hoban 63', 90'
Report Johnny Kenny 14' Attendance: 1,800
Referee: Robert Harvey
27 September 2021 Round 28 Dundalk 2–1 Bohemians Oriel Park
19:45 Sam Stanton 44'
Patrick Hoban 58'
Report Tyreke Wilson 71' Attendance: 1,800
Referee: Neil Doyle
1 October 2021 Round 29 Finn Harps 2–2 Dundalk Finn Park
20:00 Tunde Owolabi 18', 68' Report Michael Duffy 59'
Patrick Hoban 62' (pen.)
Attendance: 1,500 (est)
Referee: Adriano Reale
8 October 2021 Round 30 Dundalk 1–0 Shamrock Rovers Oriel Park
19:45 Sean Murray 32' Report Attendance: 1,800
Referee: Rob Harvey
15 October 2021 Round 31 Bohemians 1–1 Dundalk Dalymount Park
19:45 Georgie Kelly 90' (pen.) Report Sami Ben Amar 30' Attendance: 2,400 (est)
Referee: Damien MacGraith
25 October 2021 Round 32 St Patrick's Athletic 1–0 Dundalk Richmond Park
19:45 Billy King 26' Report Attendance: 1,500 (est)
Referee: Graham Kelly
29 October 2021 Round 33 Dundalk 1–0 Waterford Oriel Park
19:45 Daniel Kelly 45' Report Attendance: 2,400 (est)
Referee: John McLoughlin
5 November 2021 Round 34 Drogheda United 0–1 Dundalk Head In The Game Park
19:45 Report Daniel Cleary 86' Attendance: 1,861
Referee: Rob Harvey
7 November 2021 Round 35 Dundalk 2–0 Longford Town Oriel Park
17:00 Patrick Hoban 46'
Sean Murray 53'
Report Attendance: 2,000 (est)
Referee: Adriano Reale
19 November 2021 Round 36 Dundalk 1–2 Derry City Oriel Park
19:45 Sean Murray 33' Report Ciaron Harkin 45'
Jamie McGonigle 52'
Attendance: 3,600 (est)
Referee: Neil Doyle

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Shamrock Rovers (C) 36 24 6 6 59 28 +31 78 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
2 St Patrick's Athletic 36 18 8 10 56 42 +14 62 Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round
3 Sligo Rovers 36 16 9 11 43 32 +11 57 Qualification to Europa Conference League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
4 Derry City 36 14 12 10 49 42 +7 54
5 Bohemians 36 14 10 12 60 46 +14 52
6 Dundalk 36 13 9 14 44 46 2 48
7 Drogheda United 36 12 8 16 45 43 +2 44
8 Finn Harps 36 11 11 14 44 52 8 44
9 Waterford (R) 36 12 6 18 36 56 20 42 Qualification to Relegation play-offs
10 Longford Town (R) 36 2 9 25 22 71 49 15 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[15]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Since the winners of the 2021 FAI Cup (St Patrick's Athletic) 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

25 July 2021 Round 1Treaty United0–1 (a.e.t.) Dundalk Markets Field
14:00 Report Patrick McEleney 104' Attendance: 200
Referee: Neil Doyle
27 August 2021 Round 2 Dundalk 5–1St Mochta'sOriel Park
19:45 Sami Ben Amar 8'
Patrick Hoban 51' (pen.), 52', 61'
Jeongwoo Han 73'
Report McCaffrey 12' Attendance: 500
Referee: Graeham Kelly
17 September 2021 Quarter-finalFinn Harps3–3DundalkFinn Park
20:00 Tunde Owolabi 25'
Jordan Mustoe Red card 28'
Sean Boyd 84', 90'
Report Patrick Hoban 29' (pen.), 65'
Sean Murray 39'
Attendance: 1,690
Referee: Damien MacGraith
21 September 2021 QF Replay Dundalk 3–1 (a.e.t.)Finn HarpsFinn Park
19:45 Sean Murray 39'
Patrick Hoban 97' (pen.)
Michael Duffy 105'
Report Sean Boyd 6' Attendance: 2,000 (est)
Referee: Ben Connolly
22 October 2021 Semi-final St Patrick's Athletic 3–1DundalkRichmond Park
19:45 Billy King 26'
Matty Smith 57'
Darragh Burns 86'
Report Patrick Hoban 41' Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Neil Doyle

Europa Conference League

First qualifying round
8 July 2021 1st Leg Dundalk 4–0 Wales Newtown Oriel Park
17:45 Michael Duffy 32'
David McMillan 38'
Will Patching 62'
Jeongwoo Han 90'
Report Attendance: 120
Referee: Barbeno Luca (San Marino)
13 July 2021 2nd Leg Wales Newtown 0–1 Dundalk Park Hall, Oswestry
17:45 Michael Duffy 52' Report Attendance: 174
Referee: Andrei Chivulete (Romania)

Dundalk won 5–0 on aggregate.

Second qualifying round
22 July 2021 1st Leg Dundalk 2–2 Estonia Levadia Tallinn Tallaght Stadium
20:00 Will Patching 3'
David McMillan 27'
Report Bogdan Vaštšuk 2', 19' Attendance: 880
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (Czechia)
29 July 2021 2nd Leg Estonia Levadia Tallinn 1–2 Dundalk A. Le Coq Arena
17:30 Ernest Agyiri 17' Report David McMillan 44'
Will Patching 90'
Attendance: 1,875
Referee: Thorvaldur Árnason (Iceland)

Dundalk won 4–3 on aggregate.

Third qualifying round
5 August 2021 1st Leg Netherlands Vitesse Arnhem 2–2 Dundalk GelreDome
18:00 Bero 20'
Openda 89'
Openda Red card 90'
Report McEleney 65', 76' Attendance: 8,756
Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece)
12 August 2021 2nd Leg Dundalk 1–2 Netherlands Vitesse Arnhem Tallaght Stadium
20:00 Hoban 71' (pen.) Report Bero 28'
Gboho 38'
Attendance: 1,475
Referee: Alain Durieux (Luxembourg)

Dundalk lost 4–3 on aggregate.

Footnotes

    References

    1. "League of Ireland Fixtures Announced". breakingnews.ie. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
    2. "ABIBI THE HERO IN THE SHOOTOUT". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
    3. "DUNDALK FC STATEMENT". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
    4. McLaughlin, Gavin. "VINNY RETURNS TO ORIEL PARK". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
    5. Rogers, James. "Dundalk climb out of relegation play-off spot with Bohs' win". The Argus. No. 27 September 2021. INM. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
    6. "DUNDALK 1-2 DERRY CITY". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
    7. Ferris, Macdarra. "FAI Cup Report:". extratime.com. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
    8. "Lilywhites Take Control". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
    9. "Lilywhites Through in Tallinn". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
    10. "European dream dies". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
    11. McDonnell, Daniel (11 November 2021). "Dundalk back in local hands". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
    12. "Dundalk FC Squad 2021". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
    13. "First Team". dundalkfc.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
    14. "Dundalk FC Squad". uefa.com. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
    15. "Premier Division 2021". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.