Season Preview 2017 - Dundalk

Manager: Stephen Kenny

Stadium: Oriel Park

Ins: Sean Hoare, Jamie Mc Grath (St Patrick’s Athletic),NiclasVemmelund (Derry City), Michael Duffy (Celtic), Steven Kinsella (Everton - loan), Conor Clifford (Boreham Wood), Thomas Stewart (Ottawa Fury).

Outs: Michael O Connor, Darren Meenan, Ronan Finn (Shamrock Rovers), Daryl Horgan, Andy Boyle (Preston North End), Ciaran O Connor (Finn Harps - loan), Georgie Poynton (Bohemians – loan).

Extratime.ie Key Player: Patrick McEleney

The former Derry City playmaker settled in well to life at Oriel Park last season, grabbing a few precious goals, including the winner against Wexford Youths and a sumptuous opener against Finn Harps. His creative streak wasn’t limited to the league as he played a vital part in Dundalk’s memorable European campaign, his right-wing cross teed up David Mc Millan to open the scoring against FH, while he had a huge part to play in releasing Daryl Horgan whose cross was converted by Ciaran Kilduff for the winner against Maccabi. However, with the creative forces of the aforementioned Horgan and Ronan Finn having now departed, the onus is on McEleney to provide an even greater attacking contribution this season. He has been joined at Oriel Park this season by his former club mate Michael Duffy, and Stephen Kenny will be hoping that they can replicate their off-field friendship on the pitch and form an exciting attacking partnership for the league champions.

Extratime.ie One to watch: Carlton Ubaezuono

While many supporters across the country will be watching out to see how new recruits Clifford and Duffy take to the league, it’s left sided winger Ubaezuono who has the potential to really make a name for himself this season. Having played at left back for Dundalk’s underage teams, he was moved permanently to a more forward role halfway through last season and has blossomed. He ran an Everton XI ragged in a friendly last summer before repeating the dose to a Crumlin defence in the FAI Cup a few weeks later. He began this season in fine form against Glenavon in a friendly before scoring in the Leinster Senior Cup against St Patrick’s CY. A direct and pacy winger on the left wing left the county Louth club having performed heroics for Stephen Kenny’s men but, while Ubaezuono may not possess the Galwegian’s trickery as yet, this is the season he could make a name for himself.

How they did last season:

League: Champions.-The Lilywhites were under pressure from Cork City throughout the league despite their ten point winning margin at the end of the campaign. They edged some narrow victories such as last gasp wins at home over Longford Town (4-3) and Wexford Youths (3-2) as well as recording comprehensive wins away, most notably in the north west with a 5-0 Brandywell routing of Derry City and a 7-0 hammering of Finn Harps: both sides proved more stubborn opposition in County Louth.

They controlled the majority of games they played however they made errors at times, which weren’t punished in the league as often as they were in Europe and showed true grit to record victory over Cork City to end the Leesiders’ title challenge, despite having lost three times to the same opposition over the course of all competitions before that game.

Their six defeats were composed of two narrow defeats to Cork City, who bossed the Turner’s Cross encounter, consecutive away defeats to Galway United and Bray Wanderers respectively during their European run, a whitewashing at home to Sligo Rovers and an away hammering in Inchicore. The lack of draws (two in total) saw them claim maximum points on 25 occasions, four more than anyone else in the league and that was the key to their success.

FAI Cup: Losing finalists. Following comfortable wins over Shelbourne (2-0) and Crumlin United (5-0), the 2015 winners narrowly squeaked past UCD (1-0) before needing a replay to overcome Derry City (2-1) at the Brandywell following a draw (2-2) at Oriel Park. Dundalkthen fell narrowly short of victory in the Aviva decider. An extra time strike from Seanie Maguire broke Lilywhite hearts and ensured the FAI Cup ended up on Leeside

EA Sports Cup: Lost in their first outing in the competition to an extra time Rory Feely goal which saw St Patrick’s Athletic advance to the next stage. (Incidentally, Feely would go on to score against Dundalk’s under-19 side later in the season, a feat also accomplished by JJ Lunney as he scored in both the under-19 fixture and the 5-2 win over Dundalk’s senior side in Inchicore.)

Leinster Senior Cup: Lost to a Kurtis Byrne inspired Bohemians early in the competition. The former Dundalk forward was in scintillating form as he notched a hat trick against the side he had won the competition with, and scored in the final for, the previous season.

Europe: Europa League Group Stages. An historic year in Europe for the County Louth club as they became the first League of Ireland side to reach the group stages in five years, following progress against FH Harnarfjordur of Iceland on away goals (3-3 on aggregate), a 3-1 aggregate victory over BATE Borisov to avenge last season’s defeat and a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Legia Warsaw.

This defeat saw the Lilywhites depart the Champions League but enter the Europa League at the group stage where they were pitted against AZ Alkmaar, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Zenit St Petersburg. 4 points from their opening two games (A 1-1 draw in Alkmaar followed by a 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv) raised hope and expectations that progress beyond the group stage was to come. No such dreams were realised however as 4 consecutive defeats saw the Irish side stay fixed on four points and fail to escape from their group despite heroic displays in St Petersburg, Tel Aviv and Tallaght.

What to expect for next season:

Having won the division for the past three seasons and made significant strides in European competition in 2016, many will expect Dundalk to dominate the domestic league in 2017, while attempting to qualify for the Champions League Group Stages following their Europa League exploits. However, such a feat requires an instant gelling of the squad which has seen significant rearrangement over the close season.

The departures of Horgan, Boyle, Finn and Meenan have shorn the Carrick Road side of an experienced quartet who have proved their worth at the highest level while Michael O Connor has a goalscoring touch. Their replacements are a blend of underage internationals (Hoare, Mc Grath and Kinsella), experienced professionals (Clifford and Vemmelund) and a full international (Michael Duffy).

While there always is an element of risk when signing young players, the three aforementioned prospects have experience of the league and are all comfortable on the ball while Vemmelund provides a versatile option in defence, having the ability to play left or right back as well as centre half. Clifford has shown talent at underage level however the past few years have seen the former Chelsea man play at levels below that which his potential pointed towards. He, along with the Oriel Park faithful, will be hoping that he rediscovers the form which saw him lift the FA Youth Cup.

Another who blossomed in earlier years is ex-Celtic and Derry City attacker, and Northern Ireland international, Michael Duffy. His signing could be crucial to Dundalk’s success this year as he has been making waves at lower levels in Scotland on loan from Celtic but was drawn to the chance to perform at the highest level in Europe.

The nucleus of last season’s side is still intact and Dundalk will continue to play an expansive and exciting brand of football. Their success will be dependent upon the ability of the new arrivals to blend in, as well as the likes of Barrett, McEleney and Benson raising their games even further. An adventure filled season is in store, both at home and abroad.

Title odds: 11/10.

Opening Fixture: Shamrock Rovers (home), February 24^th (kick-off 8pm).