Dundalk entered the 2017 season as the reigning League Champions from 2016, having won the title for the third year in a row, and having come off a successful Europa League run that saw them become the first Irish club to both win points and win a match in the group stage of European competition. 2017 was Stephen Kenny's fifth season at the club as manager. It was Dundalk's ninth consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 82nd in all, and their 91st in the League of Ireland.
Season summary The new season's curtain raiser - the President's Cup - was played on 17 February in Turners Cross between Dundalk and Cork City - the winners of the FAI Cup the previous year. Cork City won on a scoreline of 3-0. The 33 round League programme commenced on 24 February 2017, and was completed on 27 October 2017. Dundalk relinquished their title to Cork City, finishing as runners-up. They subsequently lost the 2017 FAI Cup Final to Cork City in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished 1-1. However, Kenny's side did pick up the club's sixth League Cup, with a 3-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in the final. They were also runner-up in the Leinster Senior Cup, losing 4-2 to Shelbourne in the final.
In Europe they were knocked out at the first hurdle, losing to Rosenborg after extra-time in the Champions League second qualifying round. This was a disappointment after the club's exploits in 2016, even with the financial and organisational disparity between the sides.
First-Team Squad (2017) Sources:
Squad No.NameDate of BirthPositionDebut seasonLeague appearancesGoals1 25 September 1981 GK 2015 29 02 11 July 1991 DF 2014 25 23 4 November 1986 DF 2013 26 34 22 July 1993 DF 2015 15 05 27 December 1990 MF 2012 26 06 15 January 1986 MF 2013 20 17 28 July 1994 MF 2017 32 88 22 February 1993 MF 2012 16 19 14 December 1988 FW 2015 30 1610 30 September 1996 MF 2017 28 611 26 September 1992 MF 2016 26 1012 Shane Grimes 9 March 1987 DF 2005 5 014 17 April 1988 DF 2013 26 215 15 March 1994 DF 2017 17 016 29 September 1988 FW 2015 20 616 2 May 1995 MF 2017 9 118 7 May 1992 MF 2016 27 919 2 October 1992 DF 2017 24 421 1 October 1991 MF 2017 15 022 15 September 1986 GK 2014 4 024 Stephen Kinsella 22 August 1998 MF 2017 9 126 12 November 1986 FW 2017 23 2 Competitions President's Cup Source:
Premier Division
FAI Cup Source: First round
Second round
Quarter Final
Semi-final
Replay
Final
League Cup Source: Second round
Quarter Final
Semi-final
Final
Leinster Senior Cup Source: Fourth round
Quarter Final
Semi-final
Final
Europe Champions League Source: Second qualifying round
Rosenborg won 3–2 on aggregate.
Awards Player of the Month MonthPlayerReferencesJune Patrick McEleney
Footnotes
References