Dundalk progress in Europa League: For once, fortune favours an Irish side

Dundalk's progression to the group stages of Europa League comes about after their most turbulent season in years 

Dundalk’s Daniel Cleary celebrates scoring the second goal of the game with his teammates. Picture: Inpho/Ryan Byrne

This was by no means Champagne Football.

But as we all know by now in this country that’s no bad thing at all.

Dundalk achieved this by using their heads. There's a lot to be said for it, because for so much of this crazy 2020 campaign it seemed like no one in a position of power at the club was.

Patrick Hoban and Sean Murray combined with two deft headers to break KÍ’s early resistance and remind everyone that so long as the XI do the business on the pitch, even the wildest of behind-the-scenes turmoil cannot derail destiny.

Combined with KÍ goalkeeper Kristian Joensen flapping at a corner, gifting Daniel Cleary a tap-in three minutes into the second half, Dundalk’s place in the Europa League group stages was confirmed.

But such is the nature of how the last few months have gone, this was by no means a cruise down easy street.

Captain Brian Gartland headed a clearance off the Dundalk line just before the hour mark and KÍ’s spirited response, allied with the hosts loosening their grip on the game, was rewarded when Ole Erik Midtskogen drilled a shot through the legs of Cleary and beyond Gary Rogers.

There were 24 minutes remaining when KÍ gave themselves a lifeline. What followed was an aerial bombardment, rough and tumble football that Dundalk just about had enough fight to withstand.

And when it did look as if the side from the Faroe Islands would find that precious equaliser, Dundalk hit them with the kind of sucker punch League of Ireland teams have been the victim of so often down the years.

Substitute Daniel Kelly – born and reared in the shadow of Lansdowne Road in Ringsend – was sprung from the bench and finished off a counter attack to calmly slide the ball home.

It was a clinical, ruthless way to, once and for all, end KÍ’s hopes.

Even by the chaotic, often maddening, standards of the League of Ireland this story of Europa League qualification is hard to fathom.

And for a club now bankrolled by an American investment firm, whose interest was piqued on the back of their exploits in reaching the group stages in 2016, there is not quite the same feeling of romanticism about the achievement.

There is not a shred of credibility in the suggestion this outcome was the result of a grand masterplan for the Oriel Park club.

While Stephen Kenny brought the Lilywhites on an epic voyage, inspiring a generation and ultimately becoming Republic of Ireland manager, this somehow feels a bit hollow.

And yet, a lot of the faces to deliver the success remain the same.

It is impossible not to be thrilled for veterans Rogers and Gartland. The opportunity for the masterful Patrick McEleney and exhilarating Michael Duffy to to shine in Europe’s second tier competition is delightful.

And the sight of the suspended Chris Shields roaring and shouting, screaming and kicking every ball from the touchline, was a reminder of what this means to him.

This victory is the outcome the money men in Chicago would have been aiming for, but it has come about in spite of the feckless stewardship of chairman Bill Hulzier.

He is the man who wanted to instil a phone line in the home dugout at Oriel Park in order to have his say with former boss Vinny Perth during games, and signed a player on the back of an interview he read on the internet.

The Dubliner was relieved of his duties following their defeat in the Champions League qualifiers and his replacement, the unknown Italian Filippo Giovagnoli, has now guided the Lilywhites to this most lucrative of destinations – a guaranteed €3m for qualification.

Dundalk are, once again, history makers for the game in this country. They are the first club to reach the group stages of the Europa League twice and, incredibly, they have done so with a manager at the helm whose previous coaching experience involved running summer camps for AC Milan and overseeing an underage soccer academy in New York City.

While there was widespread scepticism about his arrival – including from the man himself who described his appointment as a kamikaze mission – his ability to steady the ship and bring a floundering squad into line means he will be about to embark on a journey that will never be forgotten.