Two points thrown away but dundalk look decent emough and means the fightbatbthe bottom will stay interesting
Two points thrown away but dundalk look decent emough and means the fightbatbthe bottom will stay interesting
Dundalk looked better than I was expecting they had any right to and if they keep playing like that they will be alright. Rovers will want to be much more clinical and should have made the advantage of an extra man pay particularly at the level they’ll hope to be operating at in Europe.
Yes the goal was a bit of a clanger but hardly underserved or against the run of play
Agree on the red card but as someone just said on the bus there on way home, as it is never a red card Dundalk may appeal it and he might get away with no suspensionOriginally Posted by Kiki Balboa
We were awful. So many misplaced passes and errors. Dundalk were much better than I'd expected and deserved their point. Tbh, in the second half they should've already been level. Some tidy players there and good options off the bench.
Didn't think it was a straight red but he was gone either way.
I was worried about this game, back in PD with such a big change of players, the Fri / Mon (and will be plenty more) will stretch any squad, then the obvious stress of last Fri night.
First half mostly Rovers, but def thought second half we were better side, and deserved that point, delighted with the nights work, really decent away following too for a Mon night, must been 500-600.
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), only Irish club to win a game / points in Europa League Group Stage (2016).
4352 per FAI Connect. Not bad for a Monday night
At one point the score on the creen said 5-0, got a bit of a fright in what the hell have I missed. Was then set back to 1-0.Any flares set off when Dundalk cored?
I was in drogheda end on Friday night and I find it crazy that a lot of fans seem to turn in to lunatics when it comes to dundalk ! Our ultras have been fairly good the last couple of years but the last 2 weeks have been shameful . They also wrecked 2 portaloo toilets in oriel and there was only 2 toilets there for a sold out away crowd of 500! the whole ultra thing has good and bad sides but the loi as a whole seems to have a major problem with these flares it is seen way to often I can think of many times like a linesman getting hit a couple of times by away fans in drogheda and werent dundalk fans burning cobhs plastic pitch last year with flares ? Cup finals other big games have problems too. pitches can be fixed but when children are getting burned something has to be done
I agree with what you said.
I find going to away games in the league an unpleasant experience.
I re
I agree with what you said.
There is no safe way for flares to be managed. It is time for the league to get past this crutch.
It would be easier to give the firefighters flares to use on the pitch. They at least wouldn't panic and would know how to put it out.
Damaging another clubs property on purpose does not reflect well on the league.
Exactly why whataboutaery about oriel facilities is bullcrap. If Dundalk had opened a brand new block of toilers friday they'd have been smashed to bits. Utter scumbags who were dragged up by the knuckles.
BetweenTheStripes.net - Home of Between the Stripes LOI podcast.
SPORTS MINISTER PATRICK O’Donovan has said he was “disappointed that it took my intervention” for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to attend a Joint Oireachtas Committee last year.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1UVReYdGLT/
SPORTS MINISTER PATRICK O’Donovan seemed to enjoy seeing himself on TV when the LoI budget was announced.
His recent comments about pausing all astroturf investments into the League of Ireland are comments from a politician who needs to rein his neck in. FAI were an easy target to come out with a hissy fit in being able to demand they appear before the Oireachtas committee. His recent comments are a complete over reaction. Embarrassing for himself.
Great point last night, fully deserved. We were poor in the first half, lucky to be just one down. Second half we were excellent and the better team. Still scratching my head how Arubi missed from two yards and then when Leonard was sent off it looked over and a missed opportunity. But there is something about this group. Kilduff is becoming a top manager and I'm already worried about holding onto him.
A word on the ref, and I know we all love blaming them but he was dreadful. Rovers had 19 fouls to our 13 yet we had 7 cards to their 1, mind boggling. He even ballsed up the sending off, it was a second yellow and he had to go but giving him a straight red is just incompetence. The lino on our side was equally bad, not a clue what he was doing.
Anyway 33 more draws and we should be safe.
Honestly think the minister was bang on with his comments and pausing funding, and I think he could have even gone a step further and paused more than just astroturf funding. There needs to be a properly hard line taken with this. Flares are an utter scourge on our league. Dundalk are being slapped with a massive repair bill, Drogheda release a half a statement that brushes matters under the carpet, "if we identify these lads they'll be banned", which is a cop out. Same lads will be back at games this weekend, no punishment dished out, and the only ones harmed by this are Dundalk, and the reputational damage to the league done as a result. FAI have disappeared in the midst of it all and haven't taken charge of the situation whatsoever. It's been a dreadful week for the league and nobody is taking any responsibility.
I think I’m significantly closer to Nigel’s views than much of the commentary I’ve seen around this. Anyone paying attention would know that this particular minister has a habit for taking a hard line an this is seen in his approach to the Arts Council and RTE as well so I think anyone in the know would say he would be punchy on the league of Ireland.
I’ve seen a huge amount of victim complex commentary around this on social media and Reddit that other sporting bodies would let be punished like or the response wouldn’t be as dramatic. But I think fans have to reckon here with the fact that a holy show was made of the league by the people who would claim to love it the most and that justified or not, it was the fans who allowed the league to be put in a position where they would be subject to collective punishment. I don’t think it’s cause the minster is a GAA man and that suggestion has driven me round the bend.
I don’t think the ministers actions are wildly out of proportion or what the vast majority of the population would think. Equally I think if the FAI and League get their house in order I wouldn’t need to think it’s long lasting. What do people expect was going to happen when a piece of infrastructure the state has invested in was on fire before it was even used ?
Often times what’s wrong with the league feels out of the control of the fans, well in this instance it was entirely within their control and on the night when a government minister was in attendance to open a new pitch, the destroyed it. There needs to be an acceptance of some accountability here
Last edited by Roones26; 24/02/2026 at 2:39 PM.
"The chair of Drogheda United, Sinn Féin TD Joanna Byrne, declined to respond to questions about the incident. She declined to say whether she witnessed Drogheda supporters throwing flares onto the field or if she would help gardai with their inquiries. Byrne was present for the ribbon cutting by the Minister before the game.Sinn Féin said she would not be commenting." This is without a doubt a desperate response like you cant enjoy the fruits of being chair of the club when its politically advantageous and then hide when real leadership is required
100% right on her,On the Minister, the Taxpayer paid for most of the pitch and its being burned in front of him so i cant blame him for his response.Its Dundalk not the taxpayer who will have the repair bill so its probably a little unfair but at the same time if him making a point results in less crimnal damage hes probably doing all clubs a long term positive..
Byrne ha been silenced by her poilitical party. She is assoiated closely by people who behave with indifference to other peoples safety and welfare. Something they fear becoming a discussion point considering their history, and the Byrne could continue to land herself in it.
calm down there lad she has responded
Bull****. FFG nonsense.
She’s a drogs fan, she probably knows a huge amount of fans who were present, and is being extremely foolish in thinking they can ignore this away.
Dundalk I feel sorry for, ridiculous that they foot the bill, FAI should have stepped in, issued a 70k fine to drogs and put them on a ground closure notice that going forward flares are banned in their support.
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