2000–01 Dundalk F.C. season

Dundalk entered the 2000–01 League of Ireland First Division season having finished fourth the previous season, thus missing out on a promotion/relegation play-off. Manager Martin Murray was entering his first season in charge, having replaced Terry Eviston during the summer. It was Dundalk's second season in the second tier of Irish football, and their 75th consecutive season in the League of Ireland.

Dundalk
2000–01 season
ManagerMartin Murray
First Division1st (Winners)
FAI CupSecond Round
League CupGroup (DNQ)
Leinster Senior CupCompetition abandoned
Top goalscorerLeague:
Martin Reilly (20)
All:
Martin Reilly (21)

Season summary

Following the financial difficulties of the mid- and late-1990s, and relegation for the first time at the end of the 1998–99 season, the club had been taken over by the Dundalk F.C. Co-operative in March 2000,[1] returning it to a supporter-owned, membership-based company model. The previous season there had been expectations of an immediate return to the top-flight, but a poor start left them struggling to catch the leaders and, with a play-off spot seemingly secured, the club became embroiled in a losing battle with the league's hierarchy and Kilkenny City. The row, over Kilkenny playing an improperly registered player, reached the High Court, who sided with Kilkenny thus handing them the play-off spot.[2]

Relegation in 1999 had resulted in a large turnover of players – 31 different players making League appearances in the 1999–2000 season alone. With new ownership, and a new manager, there was more of the same. A number of local players had been retained from the previous season's squad, but another ten players were signed before and during the season, so that 21 players in total would make league starts. The previous season's disappointment, and the number of players coming and going, meant that hopes were low going into the new season.[3] The 36-match schedule got under way on 11 August 2000, and Dundalk had a promising start, leading by the end of the month.[4] But a slump in form saw them risk losing touch with fellow pace-setters, Athlone Town, obliging Murray to bring more players in.[5] A victory over Athlone in November, and a five-game winning streak, kept the gap to four points as the other sides fell away.[6]

The season was nearly derailed, however, when the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak lead to an exclusion zone being put in place around County Louth.[7] Many public events were postponed or cancelled, and Dundalk went the whole of March without playing a match. They had beaten Shelbourne in the first round of the Leinster Senior Cup, but the crisis saw the competition ultimately abandoned for the season, and it would be 2010 before it was revived.[8] In the second round of the FAI Cup they had been drawn against non-league Malahide United, and the game had been postponed four times as the crisis wore on. At the fifth attempt, the match was played behind closed doors at a neutral venue, and Dundalk were knocked out in the first match they had played in over five weeks.[9] Two heavy league defeats followed as they struggled to get back up to speed, with home matches having to be played in United Park in Drogheda. But four wins in a row, including a 2–1 victory over Athlone in the first match played in Oriel Park in over two months,[10] meant Dundalk had won the First Division title (their first), and secured promotion back to the Premier Division for 2001–02 with a game to spare.[11]

First-Team Squad (2000–01)

Sources:[12]

No. Name Years League FAI Cup League Cup Leinster Cup Total Goals
1 John Connolly 1999–2003 16 2 1 1 20 0
2 David Crawley 1997–2002 33 2 2 1 38 4
3 Padraig Gollogley 1997–2001 31 1 2 0 34 0
4 Aaron Callaghan 2000–2002 25 1 1 1 28 1
5 Liam Dunne 2000–2002 31 1 1 0 33 1
6 Ian Hill 2000–2001 29 2 1 0 32 0
7 John Flanagan 1999–2008 34 2 1 1 38 8
8 David Hoey 1995–2006 26 2 1 0 29 1
9 Martin Reilly 2000–2003 36 2 0 0 38 21
10 Greg O'Dowd 2000–2001 30 1 1 1 33 5
11 David Ward 1997–2004 33 1 1 1 36 11
12 Brian McKenna 2000–2001 21 0 1 0 22 0
13 Donal Broughan 2000–2003 16 1 0 0 17 6
14 Tommy Byrne 2000–2001 17 2 0 0 19 1
15 John Whyte 1999–2003 11 2 1 1 15 0
16 Brian Morrisroe 1999–2001 11 1 1 0 13 1
17 Eoin Mullen 2000–2001 14 1 0 1 16 1
18 Anto Reilly 1999–2001 26 2 2 1 31 7
19 John Ryan 2000–2001 12 1 0 0 13 2
20 Paddy Quinn 1998–2001 9 0 2 1 12 0
21 Padraig Staunton 1999–2001 3 0 1 0 4 0

Competitions

League Cup

Source:[13]

Group
20 September 2000 Home Farm2–0DundalkDublin
Stadium: Whitehall
25 September 2000 Dundalk1–2BohemiansDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park

Did not qualify

Leinster Senior Cup

Source:[13]

First Round
5 December 2000 Dundalk 2–0ShelbourneDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park

Competition subsequently abandoned

FAI Cup

Source:[13]

First Round
6 January 2001 Dundalk 3–0LimerickDundalk
Stadium: Oriel Park
Second Round
1 April 2001 Dundalk0–1 Malahide United Dublin
Stadium: Baldonnell

First Division

Source:[13]

11 August 2000 Round 1 Limerick 1–1 Dundalk
16 August 2000 Round 2 Dundalk 2–0 St Francis
18 August 2000 Round 3 Drogheda United 0–3 Dundalk
26 August 2000 Round 4 Dundalk 2–0 Monaghan United
31 August 2000 Round 5 Dundalk 1–0 Waterford United
5 September 2000 Round 6 Sligo Rovers 2–1 Dundalk
9 September 2000 Round 7 Dundalk 3–1 Home Farm
17 September 2000 Round 8 Athlone Town 1–1 Dundalk
30 September 2000 Round 9 Dundalk 2–2 Cobh Ramblers
5 October 2000 Round 10 Dundalk 1–1 Limerick
13 October 2000 Round 11 St Francis 2–6 Dundalk
19 October 2000 Round 12 Dundalk 1–0 Drogheda United
29 October 2000 Round 13 Monaghan United 1–1 Dundalk
3 November 2000 Round 14 Waterford United 1–1 Dundalk
9 November 2000 Round 15 Dundalk 3–1 Sligo Rovers
18 November 2000 Round 16 Home Farm 2–1 Dundalk
23 November 2000 Round 17 Dundalk 3–0 Athlone Town
3 December 2000 Round 18 Cobh Ramblers 3–2 Dundalk
14 December 2000 Round 19 Dundalk 7–0 St Francis
22 December 2000 Round 20 Drogheda United 0–3 Dundalk
13 January 2001 Round 21 Dundalk 1–0 Waterford United
20 January 2001 Round 22 Sligo Rovers 1–1 Dundalk
25 January 2001 Round 23 Dundalk 0–1 Home Farm
31 January 2001 Round 24 Dundalk 1–0 Monaghan United
9 February 2001 Round 25 Athlone Town 1–2 Dundalk
15 February 2001 Round 26 Dundalk 0–0 Limerick
18 February 2001 Round 27 Dundalk 3–2 Cobh Ramblers
23 February 2001 Round 28 St Francis 1–1 Dundalk
8 April 2001 Round 29 Monaghan United 0–4 Dundalk
10 April 2001 Round 30 Waterford 1–2 Dundalk
14 April 2001 Round 31 Dundalk 2–5 Sligo Rovers
21 April 2001 Round 32 Home Farm 1–2 Dundalk
24 April 2001 Round 33 Limerick 0–2 Dundalk
28 April 2001 Round 34 Dundalk 2–1 Athlone Town
1 May 2001 Round 35 Dundalk 1–0 Drogheda United
6 May 2001 Round 36 Cobh Ramblers 1–0 Dundalk

League table
PosClubPldWDLGFGAGDPtsNotes
1Dundalk F.C.3620976538+2769Promoted to Premier Division
2Monaghan United F.C.36181175940+1965Promoted to Premier Division
3Athlone Town A.F.C.36181085337+1664Lost promotion/relegation play-off
4Sligo Rovers F.C.36195126148+1362
5Waterford United F.C.36161375630+2661
6Limerick F.C.361311124039+150
7Home Farm Fingal F.C.361013134358-1543
8Cobh Ramblers F.C.36106204360-1736
9Drogheda United F.C.3649232762-3521
10Fingal–St. Francis F.C.36311222964-3520

Source:www.rsssf.com

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. "Historic day as Co-Operative takes over Dundalk". Dundalk Democrat. 25 March 2000. Retrieved 8 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  2. "Carter saga ends with Cats getting the cream". Dundalk Democrat. 6 May 2000. Retrieved 8 May 2019 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
  3. "No clues available in tie with Crusaders". Dundalk Democrat. 29 July 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  4. "Murray's men continue to make the early running". Dundalk Democrat. 2 September 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  5. "Murray moves to strengthen panel". Dundalk Democrat. 14 October 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  6. "Connolly comes in with another clean sheet". Dundalk Democrat. 20 January 2001. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  7. Devlin, Martina (23 March 2001). "Operation Ringfence". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  8. Feery, Niall. "Leinster Senior Cup makes a return". www.herald.ie. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  9. Quinn, Philip (2 April 2001). "Brilliant Bruen". Irish Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  10. "This was the vital one". Dundalk Democrat. 5 May 2001. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  11. "Captain Crawley bridges 37-year gap". Dundalk Democrat. 12 May 2001. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. Murphy, Jim (2013). A Dundalk FC Miscellany. Ireland: Self-published. p. 299.
  13. Murphy, Jim (2003). History of Dundalk FC - the First 100 Years. Dundalk: Jim Murphy. p. 478.
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