1994–95 Dundalk F.C. season

Dundalk entered the 1994–95 season coming off a poor 1993–94, in which a general decline on and off the pitch reached a nadir – when they had missed out on the "Top Six" round-robin format that decided the title. They had also gone out early in both the FAI Cup and the League of Ireland Cup. Manager Dermot Keely was entering his first full season in charge, having replaced Turlough O'Connor early the previous season. It was Dundalk's 69th consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football.

Dundalk
1994–95 season
ManagerDermot Keely
Premier Division1st (Champions)
FAI CupQuarter-final
League CupRunners-up
Leinster Senior CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerLeague:
Stephen Kelly (9)
All:
Stephen Kelly (11)

Season summary

In pre-season, veteran Gino Lawless was awarded a testimonial, and Manchester United were the visitors. In front of a packed Oriel Park, Dundalk took a 2–0 lead, and Eddie van Boxtel saved an Eric Cantona penalty, before United ran out 4–2 winners.[1] Manager Dermot Keely, a Jim McLaughlin protege who had won the Double in 1978–79 as a player at Oriel,[2] had to rebuild the squad due to its age profile, despite a worsening financial position.[3] Early in the new season, however, the financial issues came to a head, and a number of local businessmen formed a new Interim Company to take the club over, saving it from bankruptcy.[4]

Dundalk had started the season poorly, but a steady improvement in results saw them climb the league table. They reached finals in both the League Cup, (losing 2–1 on aggregate),[5] and the Leinster Senior Cup (losing 2–1), and in the FAI Cup they were defeated in the quarter-final.[6] With seven games to go in the League as many as eight clubs were in contention, but Dundalk were the most consistent, and Keely steered his team to a ninth league title on a final day of drama. They defeated Galway United at home, then, with players and supporters waiting on the pitch to hear the results of Shelbourne's and Derry City's matches, news filtered through that both had failed to win, confirming Dundalk as Champions - their third title in eight seasons. The trophy presented was that won in 1991, as the new trophy lay unopened in Athlone, where Derry City had been favourites to win out on the day. Notably, despite winning the title, nobody at Dundalk won a monthly or end of season award.[7][8]

First-Team Squad (1994–95)

Sources:[9]

No. Name Years League FAI Cup League Cup Leinster Cup Total Goals
1 Eddie van Boxtel 1991–1996 19 0 3 1 23 0
2 Martin Lawlor 1977–1995 10 2 4 4 20 0
3 James Coll 1989–1995 24 3 6 0 33 0
4 John Coady 1994–1996 29 2 4 0 35 2
5 Mick Doohan 1993–1999 33 3 6 1 43 8
6 Anthony Whelan 1994–1996 30 3 7 1 41 0
7 Brian Byrne 1994–1999 27 3 7 2 39 8
8 Tom McNulty 1984–2000 29 2 4 0 35 2
9 Joe Hanrahan 1992–1997 24 3 7 0 34 7
10 Stephen Kelly 1993–1996 32 3 7 1 43 11
11 Mick Byrne 1994–1996 8 3 0 1 11 7
12 Jody Byrne 1994–1995 15 3 4 3 25 0
13 Matt Britton 1992–1996 20 3 6 4 33 4
14 Ken DeMange 1994–1995 13 0 4 2 19 3
15 Brian Irwin 1991–1995 16 0 5 2 23 4
16 Keith Long 1993–1996 5 2 2 4 13 0
17 Tony Loughlan 1994–1995 11 1 4 2 18 6
18 Warren Patmore 1994–1995 10 0 3 1 14 9
19 Peter Withnell 1994–1999 7 0 0 0 7 2

Competitions

League Cup

Source:[10]

Group
11 August 1994 Drogheda United0–5DundalkDrogheda
Stadium: United Park
18 August 1994 Dundalk1–1Monaghan UnitedDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park
21 August 1994 Longford Town1–6DundalkLongford
Stadium: Strokestown Road
Quarter-final
31 October 1994 Dundalk 2–1Shamrock RoversDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park
Semi-final
1 December 1994 Dundalk 1–0Derry CityDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park
Final
15 January 1995 Cork City 1–0DundalkCork
Stadium: Bishopstown Stadium
22 January 1995 Dundalk1–1 Cork City Dundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park

Cork City won 2–1 on aggregate

Leinster Senior Cup

Source:[10]

First Round
18 October 1994 Dundalk 3–1Whitehall RangersDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park
Quarter-final
22 November 1994 St. Kevin's Boys0–1 Dundalk Dublin
Semi-final
6 December 1994 St James's Gate0–8 Dundalk Dublin
Final
7 February 1995 Dundalk1–2 (a.e.t.) UCD Dublin

FAI Cup

Source:[10]

First Round
29 January 1995 Kilkenny City0–5 Dundalk Kilkenny
Stadium: Buckley Park
Second Round
26 February 1995 Dundalk 5–0St James's GateDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park
Quarter-final
9 March 1995 Dundalk0–1Derry CityDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park

Premier Division

Source:[10]

28 August 1994 Round 1 Bohemians 2–0 Dundalk
1 September 1994 Round 2 Dundalk 0–0 Monaghan United
4 September 1994 Round 3 St Patrick's Athletic 1–0 Dundalk
11 September 1994 Round 4 Dundalk 2–1 Cobh Ramblers
17 September 1994 Round 5 Sligo Rovers 0–1 Dundalk
24 September 1994 Round 6 Dundalk 1–1 Derry City
6 October 1994 Round 7 Dundalk 1–0 Shelbourne
9 October 1994 Round 8 Shamrock Rovers 3–0 Dundalk
16 October 1994 Round 9 Cork City 2–0 Dundalk
20 October 1994 Round 10 Dundalk 2–1 Athlone Town
27 October 1994 Round 11 Dundalk 1–0 Galway United
6 November 1994 Round 12 Galway United 0–0 Dundalk
10 November 1994 Round 13 Dundalk 2–0 Bohemians
20 November 1994 Round 14 Monaghan United 0–4 Dundalk
24 November 1994 Round 15 Dundalk 2–0 St Patrick's Athletic
3 December 1994 Round 16 Cobh Ramblers 2–2 Dundalk
8 December 1994 Round 17 Dundalk 1–1 Sligo Rovers
3 December 1994 Round 18 Derry City 2–0 Dundalk
27 December 1994 Round 19 Dundalk 2–1 Shamrock Rovers
30 December 1994 Round 20 Shelbourne 1–0 Dundalk
8 January 1995 Round 21 Dundalk 1–3 Cork City
13 January 1995 Round 22 Athlone Town 0–2 Dundalk
20 January 1995 Round 23 Bohemians 0–0 Dundalk
2 February 1995 Round 24 Dundalk 6–0 Monaghan United
11 February 1995 Round 25 St Patrick's Athletic 1–1 Dundalk
19 February 1995 Round 26 Dundalk 1–0 Cobh Ramblers
19 March 1995 Round 27 Shamrock Rovers 2–0 Dundalk
23 March 1995 Round 28 Dundalk 2–0 Derry City
26 March 1995 Round 29 Dundalk 1–1 Shelbourne
9 April 1995 Round 30 Cork City 0–1 Dundalk
16 April 1995 Round 31 Dundalk 1–0 Athlone Town
19 April 1995 Round 32 Sligo Rovers 0–1 Dundalk
23 April 1995 Round 33 Dundalk 2–0 Galway United

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Dundalk (C) 33 17 8 8 41 25 +16 59 Qualification to UEFA Cup preliminary round
2 Derry City 33 16 10 7 45 30 +15 58 Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round
3 Shelbourne 33 16 9 8 45 32 +13 57 Qualification to UEFA Cup preliminary round
4 Bohemians 33 14 11 8 48 30 +18 53 Qualification to Intertoto Cup group stage
5 St Patrick's Athletic 33 13 14 6 53 36 +17 53
6 Shamrock Rovers 33 14 9 10 45 36 +9 51
7 Cork City 33 15 4 14 55 42 +13 49
8 Sligo Rovers 33 12 7 14 43 42 +1 43
9 Galway United 33 10 9 14 39 53 −14 39
10 Athlone Town (O) 33 6 14 13 31 44 −13 32 Qualification to Relegation play-off
11 Cobh Ramblers (R) 33 5 11 17 29 51 −22 26 Relegation to League of Ireland First Division
12 Monaghan United (R) 33 5 4 24 22 75 −53 19
Source: www.rsssf.com
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.

References
Bibliography
  • Murphy, Jim (2003). The History of Dundalk F.C.: The First 100 Years. Dundalgan Press. ASIN B0042SO3R2.
  • Graham, Alex. Football in the Republic of Ireland a Statistical Record 1921–2005. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 1-86223-135-4.
Citations
  1. "Ince perfect". Sunday Independent. 31 July 1994. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  2. Quinn, Philip (5 November 1993). "Keely is just the man to lead Dundalk back to top". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  3. "Season at Oriel "ends with a whimper"". Dundalk Democrat. 2 April 1994. p. 24. Retrieved 21 September 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  4. Hyland, Paul (4 November 1994). "New backers save Dundalk from the threat of closure!". Evening Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  5. Stuart, Charlie (23 January 1995). "League Cup win perfect tonic for Cork City". Irish Press. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. Stuart, Charlie (10 March 1995). "Derry Delight". Irish Press. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. Brennan, John (24 April 1995). "Wild scenes of celebration at Oriel Park". The Irish Press. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  8. Dunne, Noel (24 April 1995). "Keely manages a miracle at Oriel". Irish Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  9. Murphy, Jim (2013). A Dundalk FC Miscellany. Ireland: Self-published. p. 287.
  10. Murphy, Jim (2003). History of Dundalk FC - the First 100 Years. Dundalk: Jim Murphy. p. 475.
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