2016 FAI Cup

[SwanVsDalton]

Dundalk were the better side but anyone could have won by the time ET rolled around - two tired looking teams, loads of space to attack into, errors all over the place.

Congrats Cork, some well-deserved silverware.

[geysir]

I thought it was a good tough hard fought and exciting final where everything was left on the pitch, spoiled somewhat by the poor ending :)
Sounded like a great atmosphere all the way through and both supporters had a blast.
Cork definitely deserve some decent trophy over the past 2 seasons.

[brendy_éire]

Fairly enjoyable game there, at least after the first half.
Evenly matched, but sometimes you need a bit of luck, and that's what Cork got. Fair play to them.
As a pedantic aside, did Maguire get booked after he scored? Took his jersey off but didn't notice the yellow being given out.

[nigel-harps1954]

As a pedantic aside, did Maguire get booked after he scored? Took his jersey off but didn't notice the yellow being given out.

Yeah he was booked, just as he was taking up place on the halfway line again for the kick off.

[placid casual]

Good teams win the double. Great teams win the double double.
Congratulations Corkies.

[patrickccfc]

Last minute extra time winner, I must say I enjoyed that

[total hoofball]

Good result for the league, Cork needed that to give them some momentum for next season. Much more impressive performance from Dundalk considering their trip to Russia they looked knackered from the 2nd half onwards. Thought it was a decent enough game but like all finals needed a early goal.

[nigel-harps1954]

Last minute extra time winner, I must say I enjoyed that

They're the best kind of winners. Exactly one year to the day BJ Banda scored his last minute extra-time winner against Limerick in the play-off.

[White Horse]

Disappointed with the result but not the performance.

I was very proud of the team, they oozed class throughout and it was going to take something like a cruel deflection in the last minute of the game for us to lose. That is football though, it can be cruel.

Looking forward to the rest of the season, we have some big games coming up. I hope O'Donnell and Shields didn't pick up bad injuries.

[jinxy lilywhite]

Congrats cork. Disappointed with the result and a cruel way to lose but thems are the breaks.

Hard to fault any of the lads and it was a tight with no clear standout side.

Disappointed but we don't have to wait too long to set the record straight and we will have a proper rest and recuperation

[White Horse]

I'd also like to extend my congratulations to Cork City.

It is fitting that they have a piece of silverware after all the great work over the last three seasons.

[Straightstory]

Congrats to Cork. Would have been tough losing to Dundalk again. Enjoyable final.

[patrickccfc]

I'd also like to extend my congratulations to Cork City.

It is fitting that they have a piece of silverware after all the great work over the last three seasons.

Much appreciated. A lot of dundalk fans after shouting about how it's only the fai cup, but right now this means everything to me. Just as special as that night up in tolka. The last decade supporting this team has been a rollercoaster, winning the league the cup and the setanta cup, and then all that happened after that, the club on its knees and we thought it was all over. Bursted with emotion when that goal went in, it just makes it all worth it. I love my football club.

I've nothing but respect for dundalk and I wish ye the very best of luck in the rest of your fantastic European campaign. And of course renewing our rivalry next season

[rebel]

Fair play to the Dundalk fans who posted on here congratulating City.You are real football fans,I salute you.

[WoodquayBoy]

Delighted for Cork, well done - as White Horse is magnanimous enough to say, it's great to see such a good side get some reward.

[Ezeikial]

Congratulations to Cork.

Credit where it is due - the FAI Cup is a fantastic competition and is really difficult to win. Although hugely disappointed at the outcome, I wish only the best for all the Cork supporters and the team and management, especially after all the disappointments over the last 3 years. Enjoy the feeling, boys and girls; we don't planning on giving you many more over the next few years!

[Eminence Grise]

Enjoyable game between two evenly matched teams, though I thought that, despite some Cork highlights, Dundalk edged it. Went with a friend from work (Cork-boy!) who hadn't seen LoI teams in action in a few years, but who went away impressed by the fitness levels and skill.

Congratulations to Cork - a well deserved end to the season, and, hopefully, a springboard for the next.

[Charlie Darwin]

A lot of dundalk fans after shouting about how it's only the fai cup, but right now this means everything to me.
They celebrated winning the EA Sports Cup enough (by they I mean the pre-bandwagon fans) and any reasonable Dundalk fan would say that was one of the early milestones in their success. Some of us would be very happy with an FAI Cup as a consolation prize anyway.

Congratulations to Cork anyway. I thought they just about shaded it in normal time but Dundalk edged it over 120, but don't think either side could have had too many complaints if it had gone either way.

[White Horse]

One last point from me on the cup final.

Ronan Finn. Unbelievable. I have no idea how he put in that effort after his playing so well in Russia two and half days ago.

It was the best performance I can recall in a cup final.

[outspoken]

Am I the only one who thought it was a ****e final?

[Charlie Darwin]

Am I the only one who thought it was a ****e final?
Probably. You could probably go into any pub in Ireland and find some Unireh fans who didn't watch it but would tell you it was ****e anyway.

[patrickccfc]

Am I the only one who thought it was a ****e final?

Maybe it was. But as you can appreciate, I don't really care right now

[ToberonaTornado]

Well done Cork City on today's win in a very hard fought game.
In a way i'm delighted that the match got a result and we didn't have to go to the dreaded pens shoot out to decide the game...

..or am i ;) (i was bracing myself for them tbh)

Despite the result going against us it was still a very good day out.

[sbgawa]

Congrats to cork. Well deserved for the last few years

[patrickccfc]

Well done Cork City on today's win in a very hard fought game.
In a way i'm delighted that the match got a result and we didn't have to go to the dreaded pens shoot out to decide the game...

..or am i ;) (i was bracing myself for them tbh)

Despite the result going against us it was still a very good day out.

With the final few minutes ticking by I was envisaging penalties being taken in front of us and dundalk winning. I was convinced that was going to happen.

The goal didn't feel real, just waited for the offside flag or the ref to give a free out or something to ruin the moment.

[Mr A]

Fair play to the Dundalk fans who posted on here congratulating City.You are real football fans,I salute you.

Perfectly normal for real football fans to wish be embittered, hateful gits who wish nothing but the worst for every other team. But so long as they support my club they are still wonderful human beings.

[Real ale Madrid]

Commiserations to the Dundalk fans on here. Don't think ye deserved to lose over the 120 mins.

But watching that ball trickle over the line in the 121st minute of a cup final against your biggest rivals was unquestionably one of the highlights of my sporting life. What a moment. Magic.

[Nesta99]

I enjoyed the game, it wasnt silky football but it wasnt a mess of a game. Weather was good and will a little cold, with the lack of rain and wind it was a final played in perfet conditions. It was interesting t see what looked like fatigue kicking in but then periods of dominance still occurred. We have been a bit unlucky with scrappy goals or deflections plaguing us. Anyway congrats to Cork, on the balance of the last few years it would have been really hard not to have picked up silverware. Watching the ball tricle ver the line with hardly a minute to play was hard but i'd have taken it the other way obviously and not have given a damn!

[sadloserkid]

They're the best kind of winners. Exactly one year to the day BJ Banda scored his last minute extra-time winner against Limerick in the play-off.

I enjoyed Maguire's goal more than Banda's for some reason...

[Straightstory]

I was hoping for a 35,000 plus attendance: Two great rivals, decent weather, cheap ticket prices - and people still didn't turn up. I think we have to accept now that the only way Irish teams will make any impression on the fickle and supine 'Irish sporting public' is through doing well in Europe. It would be terrific if both Dundalk and Cork made the group stages of the Europa league next year. They both look well equipped to do it. Two fine teams.

[Yossarian]

That was tough to take. Fair dues to Cork for winning the cup. It's tough to do and I don't agree with the mentality of "it's only the cup". There aren't too many trophies to win and it's always a joy to win one. I know we celebrated like crazy after winning the league cup a few years ago and it pushed us on. It'll be interesting to see if Cork push on now from this.
On the match itself, I thought we were dominant in the first half without taking any chances and Cork came back we'll in the second half. Overall it was even enough. A lot of our players were dead on their feet as it went on. It's hard to recover from playing a high intensity match in sub zero temperatures a couple of days ago. I still think if we had a top class striker we would have won that game and would also have won the league with more to spare.

[KBurke]

Just have two points on the game.

The first is do the FAI fine clubs for each individual flare let off. Could be an expensive game for both sides if so haha.

Also thought it was daft that the sign by the sponsors on the pitch after had FAI Cup Champions on it. Surely you're champions if you win the league and Winners if you win the cup.
Or maybe it's just me being pedantic

[Pablo Escobar]

Just have two points on the game.

The first is do the FAI fine clubs for each individual flare let off. Could be an expensive game for both sides if so haha.

Also thought it was daft that the sign by the sponsors on the pitch after had FAI Cup Champions on it. Surely you're champions if you win the league and Winners if you win the cup.
Or maybe it's just me being pedantic

I must admit, I don't really get what you're saying there.......

[OwlsFan]

As a neutral, with a slight leaning towards Cork because of the silverware already won by Dundalk, I didn't think it was too bad a game for a 0-0 up to the last minute. Certainly a lot better that a few Finals I have seen over the years. Both teams got the ball down and tried to play (beginning to sound like Giles) and while it wasn't a 4-3 cracker, I enjoyed it.

As for the attendance, I haven't seen the official attendance figure but it must have been bigger than some international games I have been at of late.

p.s. How do Athlone Town survive on 156 punters coming through the turnstile?. I am also saddened to see Waterford's poor attendance. I grew up in a LoI era when Waterford were the team to beat and got excellent gates ( http://www.extratime.ie/articles/17868/league-of-ireland-attendances-2016---the-final-story/ )

[sbgawa]

loved the rovers supporter on the 9 o clock news "we'll be here next year"
That's the optimism that brings us all out (and I mean all teams) every year for a new season.
Can't come soon enough.

[White Horse]

I was hoping for a 35,000 plus attendance: Two great rivals, decent weather, cheap ticket prices - and people still didn't turn up. I think we have to accept now that the only way Irish teams will make any impression on the fickle and supine 'Irish sporting public' is through doing well in Europe. It would be terrific if both Dundalk and Cork made the group stages of the Europa league next year. They both look well equipped to do it. Two fine teams.

Sad isn't it. The sporting public don't care about two domestic teams going head to head.

It's Europe or nothing apparently.

The Dundalk/Legia game at the Aviva was a much bigger occasion, and that saddens me.

[osarusan]

They're the best kind of winners. Exactly one year to the day BJ Banda scored his last minute extra-time winner against Limerick in the play-off.

Oh you *******, that's a year of counselling ruined.

[geysir]

25k is a very good attendance and that figure compares well to cup finals in other leagues which are much better supported than the LOI.

[Dodge]

25k is a very good attendance and that figure compares well to cup finals in other leagues which are much better supported than the LOI.

Too much is made of attendance figures here. 26k is 5 times what a league game between these sides would get. Cork's brought more fans to this than their last 3 league home games combined. As did the champions.

I'm guilty of doing it myself too, but going on about bad crowds only helps those who want to put us down anyway. Look at the stuff that happened that Monday with Pats v Cork and Longford v Dundalk. Longford actually had a good attendance for them but it was painted as a travesty.

A guy I work with went to his first game yesterday and enjoyed it. So did I (as a neutral). That should be promoted, rather than more whinging that won't help anybody.

[Real ale Madrid]

Too much is made of attendance figures here. 26k is 5 times what a league game between these sides would get. Cork's brought more fans to this than their last 3 league home games combined. As did the champions.

I'm guilty of doing it myself too, but going on about bad crowds only helps those who want to put us down anyway. Look at the stuff that happened that Monday with Pats v Cork and Longford v Dundalk. Longford actually had a good attendance for them but it was painted as a travesty.

A guy I work with went to his first game yesterday and enjoyed it. So did I (as a neutral). That should be promoted, rather than more whinging that won't help anybody.

Out of interest did you think the 26,400 figure was accurate?

[oriel]

It wasn't the best of games, but congratulations to Cork. Tough for us to lose it in the last min of extra time, but that's how it goes. Thought Dundalk were the better side in the first half, but we probably didn't do enough to win the match.

[White Horse]

Thought Dundalk were the better side in the first half, but we probably didn't do enough to win the match.

Need to score to a win a game!

[joey B]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154181964461848&id=571916847&_rdr

[White Horse]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154181964461848&id=571916847&_rdr

I think we should be charitable. Tired and emotional.

[joey B]

Funny nonetheless!!

[rebel]

I think we should be charitable. Tired and emotional.

Yes I agree. I haven't watched the full thing but hopefully he didn't say anything insulting towards Dundalk as ye don't deserve that. I didn't think it was such a great thing to do myself really, a bit undignified but he was well cut. Fair play to the Dundalk fans who have posted here congratulating us. That's what football is all about. I wish ye the best in the Europa League, hope ye get out of the group.

[sadloserkid]

I didn't think it was such a great thing to do myself really, a bit undignified but he was well cut.

That's what I felt, like enjoy the moment FFS Mark and don't be thinking about Dundalk.

[Dodge]

Out of interest did you think the 26,400 figure was accurate?

About right. I thought there was maore there last year but not much in it.

Last year they announce a pretty specific number. This time they fell back into the international team habit of round numbers.

[Real ale Madrid]

About right. I thought there was maore there last year but not much in it.

Last year they announce a pretty specific number. This time they fell back into the international team habit of round numbers.

Yeah - I didn't think there was more there then last year - maybe closer than I thought.

Still think 25k+ is an exceptional crowd.

[disgruntled]

Absolutely delighted to have won yesterday.

Congratulations to both City & Dundalk for leaving everything on the pitch.
It wasn't a great final but finals seldom are.

Good luck to Dundalk in Europe.
Do yourselves & the League of Ireland proud.

Two glimpses from yesterday which will live with me for ever.

http://foot.ie/attachment.php?attachmentid=2486&stc=1

http://foot.ie/attachment.php?attachmentid=2487&stc=1