Two goals inside the opening 33 minutes from Rafael Ratão and Aleksandar Čavrić killed the game as a contest and while the Lilywhites never gave up, even briefly threatening a mini-revival when Michael Duffy pulled one back midway through the second half, this ultimately proved a challenge too far.

Dávid Holman’s goal four minutes from the end has left Dundalk with it all to do in Tallaght next Tuesday if they are to keep their Europa League dreams alive.

Ireland U-21 1, Serbia U-21 3: Ireland’s U21 Euro campaign ended on a losing note last night, despite Noel King’s troops taking the lead at the Waterford RSC against a classy Serbian outfit.