Dundalk boss Vinny Perth has said that Dundalk will not get into “excuse-making mode” about the shock loss of Chris Shields through suspension for the FAI Cup Final against Shamrock Rovers.

A Dáire O’Connor goal on the stroke of half time was enough for Cork City to end their SSE Airtricity League home campaign on a high with a gutsy win over old rivals and champions Dundalk at Turner’s Cross tonight.

The striker has signed a new two-year deal with the League of Ireland champions which will see him stay at Oriel Park until the end of the 2021 season.

Dundalk’s treble dream is still on although the champions needed Michael Duffy’s 89th-minute winner to break Sligo Rovers’ resolve in yesterday’s Extra.ie FAI Cup semi-final at The Showgrounds.

A first-half hat-trick from Daniel Kelly ensured that Dundalk remain on course for a domestic treble as Vinny Perth’s side booked their place into the semi-final of the FAI Cup after a hard-fought win over a battling Waterford FC at the RSC last night.

Dundalk remain four points clear at the top of the Premier Division following a comfortable 3-0 win over UCD in Belfield last night.

There was no sign of a European hangover from league leaders Dundalk FC as they put 10 man Finn Harps to the sword at Oriel Park last night.

Conor Browne had seven possessions in the All-Ireland semi-final, a figure roundly accepted as being below-average for a midfielder.

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.

Dundalk head coach Vinny Perth has called on Irish football fans to support his side as their Europa League qualifying campaign continues in Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday, after seeing his side progress to the second round of the FAI Cup with a 1-0 victory over Cobh Ramblers.

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.

Gutsy Dundalk will go to Azerbaijan next week with a genuine opportunity of reaching the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

A Pat Hoban goal 12-minutes from time has given Dundalk real hope of progress in the Champions League.

Dundalk will have to score in Latvia next Wednesday to keep their Champions League dreams alive after a frustrating stalemate with Riga FC at Oriel Park tonight.

Vinny Perth might be taking charge of his first Champions League match when Dundalk take on Riga FC at Oriel Park tonight but the experience built up in recent years means he won’t be taking the Latvians lightly.

Colchester United loanee, Junior Uzokwe, was hailed a hero at the Ryan McBride Brandywell stadium, the tricky winger snatching maximum points away from Dundalk when netting a 94th minute equaliser for Derry City.

Dundalk made it eight league wins in a row to cement their eight-point lead at the top of the SSE Airtricity League table with a comfortable victory over Waterford FC at Oriel Park last night.

Seán Gannon’s 73rd-minute goal was the difference at Tallaght last night, as Dundalk edged a nail-biting affair against Shamrock Rovers.

James Rogers SSE Airtricity League

Dundalk have managed to stay ahead in their battle with Shamrock Rovers for the SSE Airtricity Premier Division title this evening.

Cork City suffered their first defeat under interim manager John Cotter as Premier Division leaders Dundalk took the points at Turner’s Cross.

Georgie Kelly was UCD’s leading scorer last season with 14 goals to greatly help their promotion push last year before his summer move to Oriel Park.

Daniel Kelly ripped Finn Harps apart at Oriel Park last night with a first hat-trick of his career.

St. Kieran’s College continue to reign over the schools’ hurling kingdom after a late goal from Conor Kelly and eight points from the stick of Eoin Cody helped them to retain their Croke Cup crown at the expense of Presentation College of Athenry this afternoon in Tullamore.

New Dundalk head coach, Vinny Perth, says that Saturday night’s President’s Cup win over Cork City was the team and management proving themselves.

On the night the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division title returned to Oriel Park, Dundalk FC served up a five-star display against managerless Sligo Rovers.

Dundalk 1 St Patrick’s Athletic 1

Patrick Hoban hopes that by firing Dundalk FC to the title he can also land himself a place in the Republic of Ireland senior panel.

Limerick 0 Dundalk 1

Goals in either half from Ronan Murray and Georgie Kelly saw Dundalk overcome Finn Harps at Oriel Park last night to book their place in the FAI Cup quarter-finals.

Despite the fixture coming in the middle of their Europa League double header with AEK Larnaca, Dundalk showed their commitment to domestic affairs by overtaking champions Cork City once more after the Rebels had moved two points clear.

Tommie Hoban has declared himself fit and ready to make his Aberdeen debut against Burnley in the Europa League after joining on loan from Watford.

Hoban is out on his own at the top of the Premier Division's goalscoring charts with 21 in 25 games.

Cork City will continue to look over their shoulders as Dundalk produced another demolition of Derry City at the Brandywell, the Lilywhites rarely moving into top gear to remain one point adrift at the business end of the Premier Division.

Surrounding, ridden for Michael Halford and the Newell family from nearby Ratoath by Conor Hoban, pounced late to land the featured Toals.com Bookmakers Fillies Race in Fairyhouse.

Dundalk 4 Limerick 0

Shamrock Rovers 2 Dundalk 5

Dundalk 2 Sligo Rovers 1

Waterford FC 2 Dundalk 1: Not even the best of script writers could have written the story as Waterford FC’s dream start to life back in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division continued as they moved to joint top of the table with a deserved 2-1 success over Dundalk in front of a massive 3,508 attendance at the RSC last night.

Derry City might be long shots for a title challenge but they showed they are up to the task after battling back twice to claim a share of the spoils with Dundalk FC at Oriel Park last night.

Limerick 0 Dundalk 3

There was no Friday the 13th nightmare for Dundalk, as they took sole possession of the Premier Division leadership.

Dundalk’s defence was finally breached but a goal from the most unlikely of sources ensured they went top of the table following victory over Shamrock Rovers at Oriel Park last night.