FAI Cup games

[Nesta99]

No it's not. A one stand ground would have us in the doldrums with Athlone. One stand and a couple of terraces would be perfect but one stand and nothing else is a disaster for a club

Sounds like you may prepare for another 13 years for a move to a new ground. Its obviously not a final solution but an incremental development. If actively in Stranrolar with a complete stand the money for additional areas eg terracing would land a lot easier and quicker than is currently being experienced. I'd also consider need, is there much difference in having a large stand that is full surrounded by empty terraces, or the same with no terraces in the short/medium term? Is it preferable to be in a worn out semi derelict ground? I dont see how a new stand could push a club in to the doldrums except due to finanial pressures the playing budget suffers. Athlone are where they are for a whole bunch of reasons and the ground is fairly low on that list.

[Nesta99]

I hadn't really watched Dundalk very closely outside of our games under Perth, but it seems like what you're describing above is Dundalk in 2019? Perth obviously has different ideas about football than Kenny and would play more direct, did that change in the first half of this season?

As for the kids being destroyed, I think it will certainly have an effect but they've been hammered before, albeit not this badly. I'm sure there are few players in there who will learn and grow as players from it. Ronan Manning in particular looks like he's destined for better things.

Its hard to undertand what went on tbh apart from the players not playing. We dont know why and may never know. The biggest chance between Kenny and Perth imo was greater use of the squad. SK had tweaked tactics I'd say from 2017. There was less bombing forward but were tighter defensively. Perth really just continued with this. Maybe playing in Europe more than is usual means that zip in passing is there when back domestically and especially against such weak opposition like Athlone. FG has changed formation, jury is out on it for me still, he certainly has his ideas and considering everything he hasnt had too bad a start to a first senior job. We just look to be more comfortable again - if anything was an indication of where thing were at it was Sean Gannon pre cup semi and how he played in the semi final, chalk and cheese. Feck knows what happened to turn performances/motivation around. Maybe a new contract was offered!?

[Straightstory]

Does he actually like anyone, angry sort of man.

I'm pretty sure Stuey used the term 'handbags' during the Sligo v Derry game. If so, hopefully the powers that be at LOI player will act responsibly, suspend him, and force him to go to a re-education camp like this unlucky chap.

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/lincoln-city-football-steve-thompson-4746612

[sbgawa]

is this the quietest build up to an FAI cup final since Jesus was a little lad?

I see JAck Byrne is off to join Mick McCarthy in Cyprus according to the Sun.
Wouldnt mind a job in cypruss myself. :)

On form we win today but if form was everything Dundalk would be going for their 5th or 6th cup in a row so who knows.
First goal vital.

[Nesta99]

Well at least there wasnt risk of a repeat of the ridiculous furore over Alan Mannus like last year. It is quiet, finding it hard to feel any anticipation! myself, though obviously Id hate losing the game.

[D24Saint]

I’d be all for traditional & patriotic things but facing the flag is tad old hat for a club game.

[Nesta99]

Either way - ye face the flag or the dignitaries eg President, no need for any fuss. Not that it needed it but it shows that Mannus wasnt deliberately being disrespectful last time.

[Nesta99]

And there's the disastrous defensive corner system...

[CorribsideSteve]

World-class goalkeeping and defending there from Dundalk ...

[Nesta99]

Need to ring the changes, even mixing it up tactically. When did we start heading the ball out back in to the mixer rather than to wide areas, Pretty basic stuff really. I we persist Rovers will make it safe at some point. Maybe getting a pacier player running the line preferably beside McMillan for a bit or until he runs out of steam. Its all just so meh!

Well that could change things but against the run of play. Hopefully that will lift the energy levels and not to go back on the backfoot.

back to meh..

Odds on a Bolger red card if it goes to extra time?

[CorribsideSteve]

What a turnaround though! McMillan the hero again.

[osarusan]

Dundalk offered next to nothing up front, couldn't break down Rovers at all, until the first goal. Good response from Rovers who have played more of the football.

Amazing miss by Lopes there at the end.

Is Oduwa injured/suspended? I think he'd do well against a tiring defence.

[Nesta99]

Dundalk offered next to nothing up front, couldn't break down Rovers at all, until the first goal. Good response from Rovers who have played more of the football.

Amazing miss by Lopes there at the end.

Is Oduwa injured/suspended? I think he'd do well against a tiring defence.

Was trying to find the squad sheets as I agree, his pace and trickery could cause difficulty running at a defence. I think Kelly is out allright Hoare on now whose from is ropey - if he can dig out a bullet as v Cork, all is forgiven!

Dont want to call it as going to penos but its is a again gonna be decided by the the small margins even if Rovers have been the better side overall.

[pineapple stu]

Is that the first Cup final hat-trick since 1990?

Edit - George Hamilton just confirmed it is. Miah Dennehy the only other player to do it in 73. John Ryan for Bray against St Francis in 1990 of course.

[Calcio Jack]

Blew it what a chance to become invincible .... well done Dundalk .... roll on next season

[osarusan]

After an hour of that final, it was hard to imagine it would end up like that!

Rovers had much more control of the game up to McMillan poaching an equaliser, but it was much more open after the 5 minute goal fest. As Rovers tired, their defence started to cough up more chances. Dundalk finished much stronger even though you'd expect them to be more tired after playing midweek.

Super goal from McMillan to finish it.

[joey B]

Did'nt fancy them to do it but they just know how to win big games ,congratulations Dundalk and commiserations to Shamrock Rovers.

[sbgawa]

Didnt take our chances so cant complain.
Ill settle for the league this season :)
Already looking forward to next season as we head into an unknown length of one.

[ontheotherhand]

Tough to take as I thought we were the better side in normal time and it was a 2-1 kind of game. Fair play to dundalk though, they took their chances as they always do. Burke's miss was critical as was the absence of gary oneill and the injuries to joey and kavo not to mention jack not being at his levels. But dundalk have quality and it showed through, particularly in extra time. Seems like match fitness was better preparation than rest. I thought theyd tire but it was rovers legs that went. Makes next season even more interesting.

[White Horse]

Great 60 minutes from Rovers, much the better team in that period. Dundalk dug in and kept in the game during that period. Rovers seemed to run out of steam while Dundalk got stronger and became more dangerous as the game went on. Jack Byrne, in particular, seemed to tire. Covid may have taken a lot out of him.

Burke will be kicking himself for being wasteful. Dundalk are awful from set pieces and will keep getting punished for it. Overall, Dundalk have more improvements to make than Rovers for next season.

[da bishop]

A great cup final,quality football throughout from both teams.Rovers the better team didnt get the breaks when they needed them whereas Dumdalk did and battled away staying in the game.Thought the subs Dundalk made were crucial ,would have brought on Kelly much earlier.No more honest professional than Mcmillian,super interview afterwards.

[sbgawa]

I think we were the better side overall alright, should have won it in 90 mins , how did pico miss that one at the end i dont know. But as dfc supporters know the best team doesnt always win the cup. Next season should be interesting, a lot of things to be settled before then though.

[Nesta99]

Blew it what a chance to become invincible .... well done Dundalk .... roll on next season

Can we take the line that its good for the league?

Genuinely thanks for the congrats, Dundalk have been on the total opposite situation being the better side and lost by the finest margins. Yup roll on next season, hopefully more normal than this but a lot closer. Close season is rarely dull but for Dundalk it could be a digging out the popcorn moment. Rovers and Byrne is the other big situation to resolve. I dont think if he leaves that Rovers wont still be favourites. The end of 2020 will be so welcome - roll on a much better 2021 in general.

Thanks to anyone that ive sparred with here this year. Took the mind off other stuff, while also having some bits of normality via Foot.ie !!!

[Keen2win]

Well done Dundalk. I felt that although Rovers have the better individual players, their coaching left a bit to be desired. There were moments where they looked disorganised and confused going forward, and there wasn't enough shape consistently that professional teams should have. Dundalk are coached better, with players adapting a well defined system albeit often having to defend.

Not sure what to make of all the talk of Dundalk players potentially leaving, I would expect a healthy chunk to be resigned (?) and the owners would be hoping for a few good signings. Hopefully the stadium gets sorted, I'd be an away fan that went once and wouldn't rush back. The quality from both teams shows what LTFC will have to aspire to get to next season.

[Calcio Jack]

Can we take the line that its good for the league?

Genuinely thanks for the congrats, Dundalk have been on the total opposite situation being the better side and lost by the finest margins. Yup roll on next season, hopefully more normal than this but a lot closer. Close season is rarely dull but for Dundalk it could be a digging out the popcorn moment. Rovers and Byrne is the other big situation to resolve. I dont think if he leaves that Rovers wont still be favourites. The end of 2020 will be so welcome - roll on a much better 2021 in general.

Thanks to anyone that ive sparred with here this year. Took the mind off other stuff, while also having some bits of normality via Foot.ie !!!

Not sure if good for the league but know what you mean- as mentioned already so many unknowns re next season ( aside from COVID related issues) , will we lose Byrne ? Then who will we bring in ? Who will Dundalk resign/recruit ..., will Bohs improve with Doherty money ? It’s a great league with lots of and in most cases respectable rivalry amongst fans .... but the big question over everything else is..... will octogenarian John and his side kick Gussie continue with their brilliant unabashed 110% biased commentary on Dundalk FM .... they deserve a LOI hall of fame award

[Neish]

Congrats Dundalk it takes a great team effort to win a cup final in extra time on the Sunday evening after returning from a European trip to Norway(1900 mile round trip i think i read somewhere) just 3 days previously

[sbgawa]

Great 60 minutes from Rovers, much the better team in that period. Dundalk dug in and kept in the game during that period. Rovers seemed to run out of steam while Dundalk got stronger and became more dangerous as the game went on. Jack Byrne, in particular, seemed to tire. Covid may have taken a lot out of him.

Burke will be kicking himself for being wasteful. Dundalk are awful from set pieces and will keep getting punished for it. Overall, Dundalk have more improvements to make than Rovers for next season.

Id agree with u on jack, dont think he has had a good game by his standards since he had covid. Congrats anyway on the win, cant wait to gi again

[Neish]

Not sure if good for the league but know what you mean- as mentioned already so many unknowns re next season ( aside from COVID related issues) , will we lose Byrne ? Then who will we bring in ? Who will Dundalk resign/recruit ..., will Bohs improve with Doherty money ? It’s a great league with lots of and in most cases respectable rivalry amongst fans .... but the big question over everything else is..... will octogenarian John and his side kick Gussie continue with their brilliant unabashed 110% biased commentary on Dundalk FM .... they deserve a LOI hall of fame award

Sure thats all irrelevant, as Harps are gonna do the treble next season and before you ask no it not too early to have started my christmas drinking

[DCSIL]

Good match, thought rovers were going to stroll it at 1-0 but Dundalk came out of the traps and McMillan has been lethal these last few months.

Was thinking about the 2018 final when I saw Hoare score a bullet header from the posh seats and he does it again with his feet...

Congrats Dundalk. Hope a miracle happens Thursday.
Commiserations Rovers. You’ve not had a bad season though.

[geysir]

That was a nice end to the season, no Delaney at a Cup Final - gone for good, Dundalk win the cup beating their nemesis in an exciting final, Dave McMillan rediscovers his goal machine and Jack Byrne departs from Rovers - off to warmer pastures.

[ontheotherhand]

Well done Dundalk. I felt that although Rovers have the better individual players, their coaching left a bit to be desired. There were moments where they looked disorganised and confused going forward, and there wasn't enough shape consistently that professional teams should have. Dundalk are coached better, with players adapting a well defined system albeit often having to defend.

Not sure what to make of all the talk of Dundalk players potentially leaving, I would expect a healthy chunk to be resigned (?) and the owners would be hoping for a few good signings. Hopefully the stadium gets sorted, I'd be an away fan that went once and wouldn't rush back. The quality from both teams shows what LTFC will have to aspire to get to next season.

Not sure about that. Even alan cawley was praising rovers shape and discipline. They just got tired and were missing players and sharpness. It happens. Maybe they missed having bradley pitchside but dundalk didnt win tactically, they just converted the chances they got. Good luck next year. It will be really interesting to see how the teams who have come up match up against the lower half. Shels being destroyed by athlone makes me think the gulf may not be as big as it usually is. That said, I expect Pat's, harps and derry to be better.

[placid casual]

If you don't take your chances it will catch up with you. Dundalk finished the game much stronger than Rovers and thus took the cup. No complaints here.
The loss of Joey really affected us and McMillan has shown he is a better option up front than hoban, who slows down their play, in my opinion.
Lastly its an absolute travesty that the pitch was as it as for Irish footballs blue riband event. The blame is sqarely at the door of the corrupt FAI, who through their own clown car mismanagement have now found themselves in a position to be the IRFU's bit€h when it comes to lansdowne Rd.
On to next season.
Keep on Hooping folks! 👍

[ontheotherhand]

If you don't take your chances it will catch up with you. Dundalk finished the game much stronger than Rovers and thus took the cup. No complaints here.
The loss of Joey really affected us and McMillan has shown he is a better option up front than hoban, who slows down their play, in my opinion.
Lastly its an absolute travesty that the pitch was as it as for Irish footballs blue riband event. The blame is sqarely at the door of the corrupt FAI, who through their own clown car mismanagement have now found themselves in a position to be the IRFU's bit€h when it comes to lansdowne Rd.
On to next season.
Keep on Hooping folks! 👍

That has flown under the radar but I was shocked when I realized they'd played rugby on it yesterday. Shouldve been moved to tallaght or dalymount. Ridiculous stuff and nothing appears to have changed at the FAI which is incredibly disheartening given the opportunity is now there to keep our u18 players at home due to brexit.

[Yossarian]

If you don't take your chances it will catch up with you. Dundalk finished the game much stronger than Rovers and thus took the cup. No complaints here.
The loss of Joey really affected us and McMillan has shown he is a better option up front than hoban, who slows down their play, in my opinion.
Lastly its an absolute travesty that the pitch was as it as for Irish footballs blue riband event. The blame is sqarely at the door of the corrupt FAI, who through their own clown car mismanagement have now found themselves in a position to be the IRFU's bit€h when it comes to lansdowne Rd.
On to next season.
Keep on Hooping folks! 👍

Delighted with the win obviously. I thought it was curtains when Rovers took the lead. I agree entirely with your comment on the state of the pitch, it was an absolute disgrace for a cup final and it really shows the pecking order for the FAI.

[Buller]

Still feel a bit sick but congrats Dundalk. You setup very well and took your chances! So close to becoming a legendary year. It was a great showpiece at least, nothing worse than having a massive audience see LOI teams playing out a goalless draw. Football has really got me through a lot of the year, while its not the same without being able to attend, its been an absolutely invaluable distraction. Congrats to Dundalk, looking forward to wetting the record straight next year already!

[Nesta99]

Not sure if good for the league but know what you mean- as mentioned already so many unknowns re next season ( aside from COVID related issues) , will we lose Byrne ? Then who will we bring in ? Who will Dundalk resign/recruit ..., will Bohs improve with Doherty money ? It’s a great league with lots of and in most cases respectable rivalry amongst fans .... but the big question over everything else is..... will octogenarian John and his side kick Gussie continue with their brilliant unabashed 110% biased commentary on Dundalk FM .... they deserve a LOI hall of fame award

May they never change!! Local radio with a local bias in its often rawest form - legendary. If Cork Tom managed it, they are odds on! And the nicest of lads if ye met them, if yiz met them in Kennedys say, they are pure LoI, knowledgeable and of course biased in front of the mic (the abuse to home players is mostly kept off air) ;p

I should add - the blue riband FAI Cup in the bag so great! On to Arsenal in Europe next week! Not many LoI sides have been able to roll such a commrnt out ;)

[ToberonaTornado]

Fair play to all the SRFC fans congratulating Dundalk.It was a great game and final.

Dundalk were up for this match as early as last week.McEleney in his motm spiel after the Athlone match was almost grinding his teeth in anticipation of this match. Dundalk were out to prove a point.
Looking back on the goals - The passing between Flores and Dicky and then dickys pass to McMillan for Dundalk's 4th goal were unreal.Ok - shams got caught by committing bodies forward looking for the equaliser but it still took some brilliant passing from Dundalk to create that goal and the chest down and shot from McMillan was top class.Well worked goal right there.
Cant understand how McMillan was so unattached that he couldn't do that in Scotland but glad also as we've obviously benefitted.
Great game,really enjoyed it.

[Charlie Darwin]

Congratulations to Dundalk, if you score four goals you deserve to win a game and they certainly attacked and defended better than us. Dream of the unbeaten double was nice but it wasn't to be this time. Think our quality off the bench made us worse and Dundalk's improved theirs, so still work to do on the squad especially if Byrne leaves. Hopefully by the time the league is back we can get fans back in like they do in England.

[Charlie Darwin]

https://twitter.com/dclouth/status/1335754030790955008?s=09

I think Dundalk will be all over the Internet tomorrow for breaking Covid rules. The place is going crazy still at 3.30am

Square is packed, players and all going crazy
Replay!

[ToberonaTornado]

https://twitter.com/dclouth/status/1335754030790955008?s=09

I think Dundalk will be all over the Internet tomorrow for breaking Covid rules. The place is going crazy still at 3.30am

Square is packed, players and all going crazy
No players left the bus Mickey.
FFS stop being a spoil sport henpeck

[pineapple stu]

I don't think players leaving the bus is the issue there tbh

[ToberonaTornado]

I don't think players leaving the bus is the issue there tbh

So if ucd had won the cup yous would be all standing with masks on!?
I'M not an anti masker but jaysus we need some time off from them.

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, cos lethal viruses obviously allow people time off for such things as winning cup finals for the first time in two years.

[ToberonaTornado]

Yeah, cos lethal viruses obviously allow people time off for such things as winning cup finals for the first time in two years.
K
Not pulling a debate out of this.Thats on another thread here i believe.
Be well and don't visit Dundalk i guess is as much as i can say. #SuperSpreaders

[pineapple stu]

I can just hear the virus there saying "Wait for it - wait for it! Until the people get off the bus, the rules are that no-one else can get infected". And then from the back, another virus calls out "Ah but they just won the FAI Cup for the first time in two years - can we not give them a night off like?"

I mean, well done on winning the cup and all - Filippo clearly hasn't been the joke many feared - but your comments were utterly daft and in the middle of a pandemic it's important to call stuff like that out.

If you want evidence of that, look at the increase in US infection and death rates in the aftermath of Trump's election campaign gatherings

[ToberonaTornado]

I can just hear the virus there saying "Wait for it - wait for it! Until the people get off the bus, the rules are that no-one else can get infected". And then from the back, another virus calls out "Ah but they just won the FAI Cup for the first time in two years - can we not give them a night off like?"

I mean, well done on winning the cup and all - Filippo clearly hasn't been the joke many feared - but your comments were utterly daft and in the middle of a pandemic it's important to call stuff like that out.

If you want evidence of that, look at the increase in US infection and death rates in the aftermath of Trump's election campaign gatherings

The op said that players got off the bus.I was calling that out as a lie.
I admit i made some stupid posts after but point remains - no player left the bus.
nb

[pineapple stu]

OK, that's fair enough in fairness.

[Neish]

So if ucd had won the cup yous would be all standing with masks on!?
I'M not an anti masker but jaysus we need some time off from them.

That line is simply ridiculous, you get time of from masks when you are at home or able to maintain good distance from others, If you can't socially distance you wear a mask

[nigel-harps1954]

So if ucd had won the cup yous would be all standing with masks on!?
I'M not an anti masker but jaysus we need some time off from them.

Wow.

There are no words for this statement..

[Nesta99]

Idiotic! The club should not have paraded even on a bus in the town, Dundalk specifically as an area with 2nd highest rates after Donegal also. Rovers showed common sense when getting the league trophy, well whats the point in that when Dundalk and/or fans act in a manner that undermines Rovers and a whole lot of other efforts. Crowds in The Shed could be down even if full attendances are allowed in the new season. Muppets!!!