Dundalk: A Team for the Big Occasion
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Caoimhin Reilly reporting from Alkmaar.
As Dundalk, led by their infectious manager Stephen Kenny and skippered by ‘Captain Marvel’ Stephen O’Donnell, prepare themselves for the ultimate test in Alkmaar tomorrow evening, it is worth a look back on how the Lilywhites reached the group stages of the Europa League.
The Town follow in the footsteps of Shamrock Rovers, a team also backboned by O’Donnell, who reached the group stages in 2011. However, this Dundalk team have surpassed that Rovers outfit in terms of domestic domination. The Lilywhites have dominated domestic football in Ireland for the past three seasons and show no signs of letting up. It will be a surprise if Kenny and his men end the group stage phase of Europe’s secondary competition in December with the same sighing whimper that the Tallaght Hoops did five years ago.
Although the Lilywhites have been involved in bigger games than tomorrow night’s in terms of the prize on offer at the end, their visit to Alkmaar, a city 50 minutes from Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena, will signal how the Irish side are climbing the ladder of European competition.
An estimated 800 Dundalk supporters are set to make the journey to the Netherlands ahead of Thursday night’s encounter to see their heroes perform. I use the word perform because this Dundalk team invariably performs, especially on the big nights.
As a warm-up, below we detail some of Dundalk’s most impressive results to date since Kenny began his rebuilding process.
Friday 14th June, 2013: Dundalk 2-1 St. Patrick’s Athletic
Dundalk, a team made up of young guns, supposed no-hopers and journeymen hastily assembled in the winter of 2013 by a manager whose reputation and confidence had been self-admittedly shattered as a result of his previous managerial post, fired themselves firmly into contention to win the league title following this victory.
St. Pats, on their previous visit to Oriel Park in late 2012, had pummelled the Lilywhites in the FAI Cup semi-final, while the Inchicore men appeared destined to power clear in the fight for the title when they visited Carrick Road nine months later. Dundalk put themselves firmly within distance of the Dubliners in the aftermath of their 2-1 victory. It was a victory gained firmly against the odds – it was the win that set the ball rolling. The Lilywhites wouldn’t win the title that season, however the second-place finish and the standard of football played would stand to them in the seasons to come.
Friday 2nd May, 2014: Dundalk 4-0 Cork City
In the summer of 2014, City, buoyed under the management of club legend John Caulfield, arrived at Oriel Park hungry for a place at the league’s summit. What they got though was a hammering that made it obvious the Lilywhites were serious contenders for the title. A sublime first-half of football, as tenacious as it was entertaining, was produced. The Lilywhites led by three at the interval: it could, and should, have been more. This result made people take note of Kenny’s team. The moral of their victorious performance: Dundalk perform on the big occasions.
Thursday 24th July, 2014: Hajduk Split 1-2 Dundalk
The night where Dundalk fans sensed that something special was brewing, that this is a team that performs in adversity, pitted versus all of the odds. 3-0 down on aggregate at half-time in the searing heat of the Stadion Poljud, the raucous local following ended up clapping the County Louth men off the pitch. An inspired second-period showing yielded goals from Kurtis Byrne and Patrick Hoban, and the Lilywhites had further chances to nick the tie.
However, in the end, Dundalk fell just short. The victory, the performance and the determination shown by the players were significant of course; but it was the fact that the Lilywhites were doubted, potentially on the verge of being on the receiving end of a European hiding, yet Stephen Kenny’s team rolled up their sleeves and did what they do best: perform. The rest is history.
Friday 24th October, 2014: Dundalk FC 2-0 Cork City
'Believe': the motto of one of Dundalk’s biggest and most adored supporters. The Lilywhites were labelled in some quarters as ‘bottlers’ heading into their league decider with Cork having stumbled to their final day meeting.
Dropped points from games in hand and a disappointing draw in their penultimate fixture in Bray saw the Rebels and many of their 600 travelling supporters expect to win the league crown at the home of their closest rivals. Dundalk were doubted by many. How wrong they were. Despite dominating the early exchanges, Cork were beaten comfortably. Stephen O’Donnell and Brian Gartland forced home the goals as the Lilywhites wrote their names into Dundalk history with a brilliant second-half performance. With full hearts and clear eyes, they were rampant: a first league title in 19 years. Marty Shields must have been beaming while looking over his beloved Oriel Park.
Sunday 8th November, 2015: Cork City 0-1 Dundalk FC (AET)
On the back of a season where the league crown was achieved at a canter while their European adventure was narrowly halted by BATE Borisov, Dundalk once again took on Cork City, this time in the FAI Cup final. Although, the match itself may not have been a classic and Dundalk’s performance may not have been vintage, it is the fact that they prevailed on the big occasion once again that marks this date as significant. Dundalk had played well without exception in every match up until that point in the season, handing out 7-0, 6-2 and 5-0 drubbings as if it were a hobby.
In this instance though, the pressure was on. The Lilywhites were favourites, a first double in the club’s history loomed and a massive crowd with huge expectation levels were present. Dundalk, thanks to Richie Towell’s extra-time goal, prevailed once more. They won yet again on the biggest stage: déjà vu.
Tuesday 2nd August, 2016: Dundalk FC 3-0 BATE Borisov
The night where it all came together, the culmination of three-and-a-half years of meticulous planning from Stephen Kenny, the night where Dundalk qualified for the group stages of European competition for the first time.
Although the Lilywhites were still to produce two mammoth performances in their two-legged tie with Legia Warsaw, the BATE experience was probably the club’s finest: the best performance, result and pay-day in its 113-year existence. David McMillan’s brace either side of the interval had the Lilywhites bandwagon dreaming, Robbie Benson’s coolness personified finish had them in heaven: 3-0, Europa League guaranteed. It was arguably the biggest game of the 14 Lilywhites who played lives, and they performed to their maximum yet again to achieve a result that rocked Tallaght Stadium, and possibly European football itself, to the core. How could we expect anything else from Dundalk, I suppose?
Four years ago, Dundalk was on its knees financially and at the foot of the Premier Division table. Tomorrow evening, they’ll be at altitude in Irish footballing terms, taking on former UEFA Cup runners-up and European veterans, AZ Alkmaar. A victory in the AFAS Stadium, qualification from the group stages and a third consecutive league title are all things that are beyond the control of the hundreds of supporters who will travel from the north-east of Ireland to the Netherlands, however all of Dundalk can rest in the knowledge that a spirited, dedicated and assured performance will be produced despite the scale of the event. Dundalk, a team for the big occasion.
Extratime.ie Reporter Caoimhin Reilly is in the Netherlands and will be in attendance in the press box on Thursday night where he will keep us all up to date, before, during and after the game.
