Dundalk march on in Europe

Dundalk beat CS Grevenmacher from Luxembourg 2-1 in the 2nd leg of their UEFA Europa League 1st Qualifying Round last night at Oriel Park. Dundalk won the tie 5-4 on aggregrate and now face PFC Levski Sofia in the next round on Thursday July 15th. The large home crowd were put at ease early on as Dundalk scored twice in the opening 20 minutes through Neale Fenn and man of the match Faz Kuduzovic. Grevenmacher scored a deserved consolation goal in injury time but by then Dundalk should have added to the two goal tally.

The management and team should now be given time to concentrate on the trip to Bulgaria next Thursday. Levski Sofia is a serious team with several internationals. Before that Dundalk must take on Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght on Sunday. It's a game that neither Dundalk or Rovers need or want as both have important European ties looming. Many Dundalk supporters would also like to be in Croke Park for the Leinster final.

How can an organisation like the FAI that purports to want Irish teams to succeed in Europe force Dundalk & Rovers to play so close to such important games? It seems that the needs of supporters and teams must not interfere with the FAI's admin. It's yet another example of how out of touch the FAI is with reality in the game.