Dundalk will be aiming to end St Patrick’s Athletic’s march and begin a climb of their own up the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division standings when the teams clash at Oriel Park on Friday night.
Four points adrift at the bottom of the table and without a victory since the final day of last season, head coach Stephen O’Donnell was relieved of his duties at the beginning of the week following a 4-1 defeat at Derry City last Friday.
First-team coach Liam Burns and Head of Football Operations Brian Gartland have been placed in interim charge and will be in the dugout against the Saints while the club search for a new permanent boss.
Dundalk have taken just three points from the 24 on offer so far – two at home, both nil-all draws, and one away – with their only goal at Oriel Park this year coming from Eoin Kenny in their PTSB Leinster Senior Cup/Malone Cup defeat by Drogheda United on February 2nd.
They have failed to score at home against newly-promoted Galway United and Waterford, as well as Sligo Rovers and Drogheda who both only finished outside the bottom two in 2023, and now must prepare for a daunting run of fixtures on the Carrick Road.
The Lilywhites come into this game on the back of that heavy loss in the North, which came following an Easter weekend that yielded just one point from outings against leaders Shelbourne and their ninth-placed County Louth rivals.
St Pat’s, meanwhile, could not be in better form having bagged back-to-back wins over Sligo and Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park, the latter seeing them come from behind at half-time to secure three points which lifted them into third place, albeit eight points off the top.
Their turn in fortunes has come since they returned from the United States where they faced MLS outfit Minnesota United in a friendly during the international break around St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
After collecting two wins and a draw from three subsequent games – a run which has come following four defeats in five prior to their Stateside trek – they could potentially jump to second this weekend.
However, to do so, the Saints will now need to improve their away form. They won in Galway on the opening day of the season but since then have lost in Derry and Waterford while, on their most recent road trip, they drew 0-0 in Drogheda.
| 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 |
These sides have already met this season. On March 8th, Ruairí Keating struck the only goal of the game on the half-hour mark to give St Pat’s a 1-0 win, despite an improved performance from Dundalk after they had been hammered 5-0 by Sligo four days earlier.
Last season, Dundalk beat the Saints 5-0 at Oriel Park in March and drew 1-1 with them at home in June despite going down to ten men when already a goal behind, while they lost both meetings in Dublin, 2-1 in May and 3-1 in September.
It is a busy few days for the Lilywhites who will be back in the capital on Monday when they face Bohemians in a rearranged fixture at Dalymount Park.
Team News
Archie Davies returns from suspension and Jamie Walker is back in the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury but Ciaran McGuckin and Andy Boyle are doubtful.
Quotes – Liam Burns
“Monday was tough for everyone but the nature of football means you can’t dwell on things for too long.
“The full focus over the past few days has been on preparing for Pat’s. There’s been a good response from the lads in training and we’re looking forward to it.
“It’ll be a difficult game and Pat’s will be full of confidence after winning their last two but as we’ve seen, week in, week out, there’s nothing between any of the teams in this league.
“We obviously haven’t made the start that we would have wanted but we’re at home on Friday night and we need everyone to stick together, to get behind the team and the club, and help us move up the table.”
Quotes – John Mountney
“Last week’s result in Derry was very disappointing. We have to take responsibility, the lads who took the pitch, myself included, it just wasn’t good enough. It’s as simple as that. We just didn’t serve up a performance that was good enough to go and get anything.
“People come up to Oriel and look forward to their Friday nights. Obviously the whole mindset at the minute is very negative but the only people who can change that is us on the pitch.
“The fans are spending their hard earned money to come to Oriel Park and they’re not happy with how it has been so we need to give them something, starting with Pat’s on Friday night, that they can really get behind and sort of believe in.”
Match Officials
Referee: Gavin Colfer
Assistants: Robert Clarke and Richard Storey
Fourth Official: Robert Harvey
