Five of our academy sides were in action at the weekend with our MU14 and MU15 recording excellent victories at Oriel Park.

Dundalk FC MU14 3-1 Longford Town
After a two-week break, our MU14 were back in action on Sunday and they recorded an excellent 3-1 win at home to Longford Town in Group D of the Eddie Wallace Cup.
Goals from Alex Caraincica, Mason Molyneaux and Cillian Hughes did the damage for Cian Mulligan’s side before Aistis Vaitkevicious pulled one back for the Midlanders before the end.
DUNDALK FC MU14: Marcel Gora, Conall Whyte, Jamie Fitzgerald, Tristan Doyle, Jack Forde, Jamie Grace, Luke Cullen, Alex Caraincica, Adam Zivkovic, Jude McGinty, Jamie Donnan. Subs: Mason Molyneaux, Oliver Hughes, Sean O’Brien, Robert Cotter, Tadgh O’Hanlon, Josh Weldon, Cillian Hughes.

Dundalk FC MU15 3-2 Sligo Rovers
Our M1U5 side maintained their 100% start to the Phase Two Tier Two North section with a 3-2 win over Sligo Rovers at Oriel Park on Saturday.
TJ Molloy got the Lilywhites off to the perfect start when he slotted home a penalty after just two minutes but the visitors drew level midway through the half thanks to a goal from Ryan Healy.
Ryan Campbell restored Dundalk’s lead in the 40th minute and Jordan Vocella put Stephen Hutchinson’s side in the driving seat five minutes later.
Cian Whittaker pulled one back for the visitors but Dundalk saw it out to claim their third win of the section that leaves them two points clear at the summit.
Next up for the lads is a trip to the AUL on Saturday to face Shelbourne in the Michael Hayes Cup.
DUNDALK FC MU15: Aaron O’Donoghue, Alex Gaughran, Mikey Cummins, Pauric Maguire, Calum Woods, Jordan Vocella, Ethan Deegan, Shaun Platt, Shea Savage, TJ Molloy, Ryan Campbell.

Dundalk FC MU17 1-2 Finn Harps
After a 2-1 loss to Athlone Town seven days earlier, our MU17 side slumped to another narrow defeat on Sunday, going down 2-1 against Finn Harps at Oriel Park in their second Tier Two North fixture.
Conor McGranaghan put Harps in front in the 22nd minute but Stephen Brady hauled Dundalk level just before the interval.
Shane Grimes’s side pushed for a second goal after the restart but it was the visitors who took all three points thanks to Tiarnan Callaghan McElwaine.
The Lilywhites will be hoping to bounce back this weekend when they make the trip to Ballycorus to face Bray Wanderers in the second round of the Mark Farren Cup.
DUNDALK FC MU17: Shayne O’Byrne, Rhys O’Hare, Sam Kierans, Cian Spaight, Sean Spaight, Shay Casey, Karl Stenson-Browne, Stephen Brady, Aaron Donnelly, Liam McCabe, Fahd Nil-Monney. Subs: Nico Lovrekovic, Oisin Smyth, Aaron O’Donoghue, Alex Gaughran, TJ Molloy, Pauric Maguire.

Our WU17 team that took part in the LOI Development Day in Abbottstown. Top: Alex Caraincica, who scored for the MU14s against Longford Town. Photos: Gerry Scully

WU17 LOI Development Day
Our WU17 team produced a great display of football on Sunday at the LOI Development Day in Abbottstown.
Goals from Siun Kirby and Sarah Burke off Kerry FC in their opening game before losing 1-0 to Bray Wanderers and Sligo Rovers, although the results certainly didn’t reflect the team’s performance in both games.
The girls are back in action on Saturday when they entertain Finn Harps in the WU17 Tier Two North.
DUNDALK FC WU17: Emalie McDonald, Ernesta Marut, Erin Shannon, Jessica Cox, Naomi Dowd, Noise Smyth, Wendy Benedo, Siun Kirby, Macy Treanor, Sarah Burke, Shauna Smyth, Jennifer Freeman, Molly Gordon, Ciara Brady, Abbie Shiels.

Finn Harps 3-2 Dundalk FC WU19
Our WU19 team’s frustrating run in the cup continued on Sunday as they were unlucky to lose a five-goal thriller against Finn Harps in Donegal.
Things started brightly when Chloe Ibezim put Dundalk ahead at Finn Park in the sixth minute but the hosts restored parity through Erika Gallagher to send the teams in level at the break.
Harps took control when quickfire goals from Ella McHugh and Orlaith Doherty left Dundalk with it all to do but Pat Campbell’s side battled hard and Ella McKenna gave them lots of hope when she immediately pulled one back to cap a crazy spell of football.
The Lilywhites threw everything at it as they went in search of an equaliser but they were left frustrated with Ibezim shown a red card in the dying minutes after picking up her second yellow yard.
The WU19s return to league action this weekend when they play host to DLR Waves at Oriel Park in the first of their Tier Two Notch fixtures.
DUNDALK FC WU19: Emma Goodman, Kelly Pease, Abigail Martin, Laura Woods, Kate Drumm, Sarah Byrne, Ella McKenna, Chloe Ibezim, Stephanie Cunningham, Moya Bishop, Jodie McQuillan. Subs: Eden Laughton Tyler (GK), Zara Farrell, Aleesha Smith Palanzuela, Ruth Leahy.