Dundalk’s Euro odyssey ends at hands of Slovan Bratislava

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.

[team1]Dundalk[/team1][score1]1[/score1][team2]Slovan Bratislava[/team2][score2]3[/score2][/score]

Vinny Perth asked beforehand for his side to be brave — and they were — but ultimately the quality of Slovan Bratislava on the break proved decisive as Dundalk’s Europa League dreams came crashing down at Tallaght Stadium last night.