FAI Cup Report: Dundalk FC 1 - 0 Shamrock Rovers

Dundalk capped off a successful week for the club by knocking Shamrock Rovers out of the FAI Cup courtesy of a single Hayden Muller goal at Oriel Park on Sunday evening.

Fresh from grounding FCB Magpies at the Carrick Road venue on Thursday evening, head coach Stephen O’Donnell made five changes with second half hero John Martin earning the lone striker role due to a Pat Hoban injury. At the back, Hayden Muller replaced the injured Louie Annesley while Paul Doyle came into midfield alongside Alfie Lewis with Greg Sloggett and Conor Malley on the bench. Dan Kelly also took his place among the subs with Robbie McCourt lining up as a left wing back in a change of shape from Thursday evening.

Shamrock Rovers landed at Oriel Park after a European defeat to Icelandic opponents last Tuesday and Stephen Bradley, too, opted to ring the changes with the return of Alan Mannus between the posts, Lee Grace in the centre of the defence, Dylan Watts in midfield and Aaron Greene in attack- Pohls, Finn, Poom and ex Dundalk midfielder Richie Towell the quartet to miss out.

The visitors were forced into an early change as the influential Rory Gaffney departed through injury and his replacement Johnny Kenny was to play a crucial role in proceedings shortly after his 5th minute arrival.

Nipping onto a short backpass, the on loan Celtic forward deftly lofted the ball over the advancing Nathan Shepperd before kissing the face of the crossbar and returning towards the attacker. However, with the goal unmanned the former Sligo Rovers youngster came under pressure from a retreating defender and nodded wide.

Buoyed by their reprieve, Dundalk began to put the pressure on the visitors and the returning Mannus ended Robbie McCourt’s slaloming run and shot with a sharp stop. However, the veteran netminder was powerless to stop The Lilywhites taking the lead from the subsequent corner which was lashed to the net by the recalled Hayden Muller for the defender’s first goal for the club.

That man Kenny was denied by Shepperd in the first save of what would turn out to be a 90 minute long battle between the two before Paul Doyle tugged a Shamrock Rovers shirt in midfield and received his second yellow card thirty minutes into proceedings- a decision which would shape the course of the game for the next hour as Dundalk were forced to work openings through pressing and counter attacks instead of the possession based strategy which they had started to set in motion.

Dundalk changed shape with the energetic Finn Johannes Yli-Kokko repositioned alongside Alfie Lewis in midfield to create a 4-4-1 shape and stifle the extra space created by the departure of Doyle. Despite this, Rovers continued to fashion opportunities for an equaliser and came incredibly close twice in the opening quarter of the second half- Nathan Shepperd bravely blocked Johnny Kenny’s strike before the rebound squirted to the prowling Graham Burke and his measured effort was nodded off the line by Darragh Leahy to preserve the home side’s clean sheet. 

The Lilywhites were indebted to the woodwork moments later as ex Dundalk player Sean Hoare knocked an effort off the post before Shepperd tipped Grace’s rebound over his crossbar. The Welshman continued to stand tall as the home side soaked up considerable pressure but restricted their opponents to a number of crosses which he claimed well alongside a handful of efforts which a goalkeeper of his calibre would be expected to save.

At the other end, Ryan O’Kane was proving a constant threat as an outball- his pace a real asset throughout, a threat added to by the speedy Dan Kelly who entered the play with twenty minutes remaining- his entrance signalling the end of Martin’s night after another bustling performance from the Kilkenny man on a day his fellow countymen failed to deny Limerick a fourth All Ireland  hurling title in a row.

However, for Martin and his teammates, their own quest for silverware continues as they saw out seven minutes of injury time to ensure their name remained in the draw for the Second Round. Dundalk head to Iceland on the back of two wins in an important week while Stephen Bradley’s Hoops are well placed domestically to retain their league title, however it’s European matters for them also this week as they travel to Hungary eager for a result against Ferencvaros to put a stop to the current run of three consecutive defeats.

Dundalk: Nathan Shepperd; Andy Boyle, Darragh Leahy, Hayden Muller; Archie Davies, Paul Doyle, Alfie Lewis (Greg Sloggett 63), Robbie McCourt (Darren Brownlie 86), Ryan O'Kane (Cameron Elliott 86), Johannes Yli-Kokko (Connor Malley 86); John Martin (Daniel Kelly 72).

Subs not used: Mark Byrne, Peter Cherrie, Mayowa Animasahun, Anthony Moyo.

Booked: Paul Doyle (15), Paul Doyle (31), Nathan Shepperd (80), Mark Byrne (90).

Sent off: Paul Doyle (31).

Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Daniel Cleary, Lee Grace, Sean Hoare (Liam Burt 66), Pico; Graham Burke, Aaron Greene, Sean Kavanagh (Richie Towell 80), Gary O'Neill (Naj Razi 80), Dylan Watts; Rory Gaffney (Johnny Kenny 5).

Subs not used: Leon Pohls, Kieran Cruise, Ronan Finn, Markus Poom, Conan Noonan.

Booked: Sean Hoare (60).

Sent off: None.

Referee: Rob Harvey

Attendance: 2686

extratime.com Player of the Match: Andy Boyle