Dundalk will rise off the bottom of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table for the first time in two months if they beat Drogheda United in the Louth Derby at Weaver’s Park on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon (kick-off 1pm).
The Lilywhites are unbeaten in three games having taken five points from the last nine available, and Friday’s stalemate with league leaders Shelbourne at Oriel Park moved them to within two points of ninth-placed Drogheda.
After starting with back-to-back defeats in their home fixtures, Dundalk have since turned their own stadium into somewhat of a fortress, having gone five games without conceding a goal, although four of them were scoreless draws.
They will now aim to improve their away form, having taken just two points from their six road trips so far. In a crucial week as the midway point of the season approaches, they travel to Drogheda and then seventh-placed Waterford in the space of five days.
Dundalk’s last away outing, in Sligo over a fortnight ago, saw them produce one of their most encouraging 45 minutes of the year as Jamie Gullan’s early second-half penalty earned them a deserved 1-1 draw in the West. Gullan later had a goal disallowed in a marginal offside call, as their search for a first away success since the final day of last season continued.
Drogheda, though, will provide an extremely difficult test having put together their own five-match unbeaten home run, in total collecting nine of their 11 points on their own turf.
Having lost 4-1 to Waterford in their first outing at Weavers Park back in February, they have beaten Bohemians and recently Sligo, coming from behind to win 3-1. In between those, they drew with Saint Patrick’s Athletic, Shels – where they were only denied victory deep in injury-time – and Derry City.
Over the past week, the Boynesiders have lost twice in Dublin, 4-0 to Shamrock Rovers in a rearranged fixture last Monday and 1-0 to St Pat’s on Friday, but they will now be confident back at their own place.
One of the two away points that Drogheda picked up this season was at Oriel Park on April Fool’s Day, when Kevin Doherty’s men held firm in the final 20 minutes for 0-0 despite losing Luke Heeney to a straight red card. Right-back Archie Davies also saw red for Dundalk, although that came in injury-time.
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shelbourne | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 37 | 26 | 11 | 57 |
| 2 |  Derry City | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 48 | 29 | 19 | 55 |
| 3 |  Shamrock Rovers | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 47 | 34 | 13 | 55 |
| 4 |  St Patrick’s Athletic | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 48 | 37 | 11 | 53 |
| 5 |  Galway United | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 30 | 26 | 4 | 50 |
| 6 |  Sligo Rovers | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 38 | 47 | -9 | 48 |
| 7 |  Waterford FC | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 41 | 44 | -3 | 44 |
| 8 |  Bohemians | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 40 |
| 9 |  Drogheda United | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 40 | 56 | -16 | 33 |
| 10 |  Dundalk FC | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 23 | 49 | -26 | 25 |
In their other clash in 2024, Drogheda won on the Carrick Road in early February in their PTSB Leinster Senior Cup group game/Malone Cup tie, where they came from behind to upset the hosts. Warren Davis scored twice after Eoin Kenny’s first senior goal for Dundalk.
The clubs’ last meeting in Drogheda was last June when Patrick Hoban scored a brace in the final quarter-hour to cancel out Adam Foley’s early opener and give Dundalk a 2-1 win. Dundalk also won 1-0 there in March last year thanks to Connor Malley, on a night when Freddie Draper missed a late penalty for the Drogs.
Drogheda’s last home win over Dundalk was in July 2022, the second of two 1-0 victories for them in this fixture there that season. The now-departed Dean Williams, who came off the bench for Shels at Oriel Park on Friday, did the damage on both occasions.
Team News
Zak Bradshaw is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season while Robbie Mahon and Dara Keane are injured.
Quotes – Noel King
“The performance on Friday was very pleasing. I thought the lads were really at it, well organised, high intensity, they wanted something out of the game and thankfully they got something. They may have got a win but it could have gone either way, in fairness, so I was very happy with it.
“In the first half, we must have had four or five good chances and then we had a couple of little half efforts that the ‘keeper picked up. I was well pleased. We dominated the first half in my eyes.
“To stay in the game, you would expect the top-of-the-table team to be coming at you. They wouldn’t be happy with a point here because we’re bottom of the league. They would have expected to come up and take the three points but thankfully that didn’t happen. That’s full credit to the players, the staff and the fans – everybody. It’s turning into a nice little place, Oriel.
“Oriel Park was always a tough place to come to, in my memory anyway, both playing for the club and against them. It’s always a bastion. We’re sending out a little message. Performances have been great, players’ desire is top-notch and preparation is great – it’s all going well.
“Now, the big message is the derby. The plan is that we just keep going. It’s three points. That’s the key. How we go about getting the three points, we have to see how people recover, we’ve got tired bodies. It’s not easy, these three matches in such a short time.
“It’s the same for Drogheda as well. People will drop out through injury and suspension. We’ll wait and see. The most important thing after Friday was to rest up, get our heads on and get back to business for Monday.”
Match Officials
Referee: Robert Harvey
Assistants: Dermot Broughton and Darren Corcoran
Fourth Official: Oliver Moran
