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.
2015 season | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() 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 goalscorer | League: Richie Towell (25) All: Richie Towell (26) | ||
Highest home attendance | 3,957 (vs. Shamrock Rovers, 1 September 2015)[1] | ||
| |||
Season summary
editThe 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)
editSources:[7]
Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth | Position | Debut season | League appearances | Goals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gary Rogers | 25 September 1981 | GK | 2015 | 31 | 0 |
2 | Sean Gannon | 11 July 1991 | DF | 2014 | 32 | 1 |
3 | Brian Gartland | 4 November 1986 | DF | 2013 | 27 | 6 |
4 | Andy Boyle | 7 March 1991 | DF | 2013 | 33 | 1 |
5 | Chris Shields | 27 December 1990 | MF | 2012 | 30 | 0 |
6 | Stephen O'Donnell | 15 January 1986 | MF | 2013 | 24 | 2 |
7 | Daryl Horgan | 10 August 1992 | MF | 2014 | 33 | 9 |
8 | John Mountney | 22 February 1993 | MF | 2012 | 33 | 3 |
9 | David McMillan | 14 December 1988 | FW | 2014 | 33 | 12 |
10 | Ronan Finn | 21 December 1987 | MF | 2015 | 33 | 5 |
11 | Kurtis Byrne | 9 April 1990 | FW | 2013 | 14 | 0 |
12 | Shane Grimes | 9 March 1987 | DF | 2005 | 4 | 0 |
14 | Dane Massey | 17 April 1988 | DF | 2013 | 32 | 4 |
15 | Paddy Barrett | 22 July 1993 | DF | 2015 | 11 | 0 |
16 | Ciarán Kilduff | 29 September 1988 | FW | 2015 | 12 | 4 |
17 | Richie Towell | 17 July 1991 | MF | 2013 | 32 | 25 |
19 | Sean Maguire | 1 May 1994 | FW | 2015 | 6 | 0 |
21 | Darren Meenan | 1 October 1991 | MF | 2013 | 28 | 3 |
22 | Gabriel Sava | 15 September 1986 | GK | 2014 | 3 | 0 |
28 | Georgie Poynton | 8 September 1997 | MF | 2013 | 2 | 0 |
Competitions
editPresident's Cup
editSource:[8]
28 February 2015 | Dundalk | 2–1 | St Patrick's Athletic | Oriel Park |
TBC GMT | Horgan 36' Towell 38' | Report | Forrester 35' | Attendance: 1,800 (estimate) Referee: Tomas Connolly |
Premier Division
editPos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dundalk (C) | 33 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 78 | 23 | +55 | 78 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round[a] |
2 | Cork City | 33 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 57 | 25 | +32 | 67 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
3 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 56 | 27 | +29 | 65 | |
4 | St Patrick's Athletic | 33 | 18 | 4 | 11 | 52 | 34 | +18 | 58 | |
5 | Bohemians | 33 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 53 | |
6 | Longford Town | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 41 | 53 | −12 | 39 | |
7 | Derry City | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 35 | |
8 | Bray Wanderers | 33 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 27 | 51 | −24 | 33 | |
9 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 31 | |
10 | Galway United | 33 | 9 | 4 | 20 | 39 | 61 | −22 | 31 | |
11 | Limerick (R) | 33 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 46 | 73 | −27 | 29 | Qualification to Relegation play-offs |
12 | Drogheda United (R) | 33 | 7 | 7 | 19 | 32 | 62 | −30 | 28 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.[9]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ 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
editSource:[8]
- Second Round
29 May | Dundalk | 5–0 | Shelbourne | Oriel Park |
Report |
- Third Round
21 August | Galway United | 1–4 | Dundalk | Eamonn Deacy Park |
Report | Attendance: 761 Referee: Robert Rogers |
- Quarter Final
- Semi Final
2 October | Dundalk | 2–0 | Longford Town | Oriel Park |
Report |
- Final
8 November 2015 | Dundalk | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Cork City | Aviva Stadium |
15:30 | Richie Towell 107' | Report | Attendance: 25,103 Referee: David McKeon |
League Cup
editSource:[8]
- Second Round
7 April 2015 | Dundalk | 1–0 | Shelbourne | Oriel Park |
19:45 | John Mountney 11' | Report | Attendance: 697 Referee: Rob Harvey |
- Quarter Final
18 May 2015 | UCC | 0–5 | Dundalk | The Mardyke |
20:00 | Report | Ciaran O'Connor 3' Jake Kelly 13' Paddy Barrett 36' Paddy Barrett 55' Kurtis Byrne 78' |
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 |
17:00 | Alex Byrne 113' | Report | Ronan Finn 44' Darren Meenan 78' |
Referee: Ray Matthews |
Penalties | ||||
Stephen Walsh David O'Leary Jake Keegan Colm Horgan |
Ronan Finn David McMillan Daryl Horgan John Mountney |
Leinster Senior Cup
editSource:[8]
- Fourth Round
10 February 2015 | Dundalk | 2–1 | UCD | Dundalk |
19:45 GMT | Ronan Finn 74' David McMillan 83' |
Report | Dylan Watts 15' | Stadium: Oriel Park Referee: Robert Harvey |
- Quarter Final
16 March 2015 | Wexford | 0–3 | Dundalk | Wexford |
19:45 GMT | Report | Ciaran O'Connor 16' Shane Grimes 57' Shane Grimes 88' |
Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park |
- Semi Final
22 September 2015 | St Patrick's Athletic | 0–1 | Dundalk | Inchicore |
19:45 GMT | Report | Stephen O'Donnell 51' | Stadium: Richmond Park |
- Final
26 October 2015 | Dundalk | 3–1 | Shamrock Rovers | Dundalk |
19:45 GMT | Kurtis Byrne 53' Kurtis Byrne 56' Chris Shields 90+5' |
Report | Aaron Dobbs 81' | Stadium: Oriel Park Attendance: 963 Referee: Simon Rogers |
Europe
editChampions League
editSource:[8]
- Second qualifying round
BATE Borisov | 2–1 | Dundalk |
---|---|---|
Karnitsky 11' Yablonskiy 38' |
Report | McMillan 32' |
BATE Borisov won 2–1 on aggregate.
Awards
editPlayer of the Month
editMonth | Nationality | Player | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
March | Ireland | David McMillan | [10] |
April | Ireland | Richie Towell | [11] |
May | Ireland | Daryl Horgan | [12] |
September | Ireland | Richie Towell | [13] |
November | Ireland | Richie Towell | [14] |
PFAI Player of the Year
editPlayer | Reference |
---|---|
Richie Towell | [15] |
FAI League of Ireland Player of the Year
editPlayer | Reference |
---|---|
Richie Towell | [16] |
SWAI Personality of the Year
editPerson | Reference |
---|---|
Richie Towell | [17] |
RTÉ Sports Team of the Year
editTeam | Reference |
---|---|
Dundalk F.C. | [18] |
Footnotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Newberry, Niall (2 September 2015). "League Report: Dundalk 2 - 0 Shamrock Rovers". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Dundalk 2 - 1 St. Patrick's Athletic". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Donnelly, Dave. "League Report: Shamrock Rovers 1 - 1 Dundalk". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Dolan, Josh. "FAI Cup Final Report: Cork City 0-1 Dundalk A.E.T." www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Fisher, Ciaran. "Leinster Senior Cup Final Report: Dundalk 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Fisher, Ciaran. "Champions League Report: Dundalk 0-0 BATE Borisov". www.extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Dundalk FC Squad 2015". www.worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "DUNDALK 2015". extratime.ie. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "PREMIER DIVISION 2015 - Season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "No prizes for guessing the Airtricity League Player of the Month for April". www.the42.ie. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Daryl Horgan player of the month for May". www.rte.ie. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Richie Towell named Player of Month for September". www.rte.ie. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "TOWELL NAMED SWAI PLAYER OF THE MONTH". www.dundalkfc.com. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Towell named PFAI Player of the Year". www.the42.ie. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Richie Towell is the Irish Soccer Writers' Personality of the Year for 2015". www.the42.ie. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "DUNDALK SECURE RTÉ SPORT TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD". www.dundalkfc.com. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2019.