SUPER MAC
EA SPORTS CUP FINAL Mac landmark Five for Stewar t 21 players used
Saturday’s EA Sports Cup final victory over Shamrock Rovers was the sixth time that Dundalk have won the competition in their history. It is also the sixth time that Stephen Kenny has won the competition as manager. Only Derry City (10), where Kenny won the competition four times in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2011 have now won the League Cup more times than Dundalk.
Keeping up the theme of six, David McMillan scored in his sixth consecutive game in all competitions to take his tally for the season to 20. He has now scored seven goals in his last six outings with Saturday’s early header also his seventh career goal in the EA Sports Cup. His previous six strikes in the competition all came in the 2014 campaign which also saw Dundalk emerge victorious. Saturday was the first time McMillan has scored for Dundalk in four final appearances. His fifth minute header was his fifth career goal in Ta llaght but only his third against Shamrock Rovers in his career.
Patrick McEleney’s stunning goal eight minutes from the end of the season was his 11th of the season and his 15th goal for Dundalk in his two seasons with the club. It is only the second time he has hit the net in his career against Shamrock Rovers with his previous strike against the Hoops also being the second of in a 3-0 win at
Ta llaght Stadium for Derry City in the Setanta Cup in April 2012.
Thomas Stewart’s stoppage time goal on Saturday was the cherry on top for Dundalk on the day but it was also a landmark fifth goal for the striker since joining the Lilywhites. His 92nd minute finish past To mer Chencinski was the second time he has scored in the EA Sports Cup this season, meaning he finishes the campaign as Dundalk’s joint to scorer in the competition alongside Conor Clifford, who was an unused sub at the weekend.
While Saturday’s EA Sports Cup success was the first piece of silverware won by Jamie McGrath and Sean Hoare since joining Dundalk, the Lilywhites’ victory over Shamrock Rovers means they have now won the competition three years in-a-row having been part of the St Patrick’s Athletic squad which lifted the trophy in 2015 and 2016. Steven Kinsella, who featured late on against Rovers, was also a winner with Pat’s last year having been an unused sub in their final win over Limerick FC.
Dundalk used 21 players throughout their EA Sports Cup winning campaign including the since departed trio of Ciaran Kilduff, Paddy Barrett and Keith Dalton. First team regulars Gary Rogers and Brian Gartland didn’t feature in a single minute of the competition. DAVID McMillan has sent a warning to League of Ireland defences that there is more to come from him this season.
The striker hit his seventh goal in his last six matches and his 20th in all competitions this season by giving Dundalk a fifth minute lead in Saturday’s EA Sports Cup final victory over Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium.
However, with the FAI Cup semi-final against the Hoops still to come and many league matches to follow the 28-yearold is targeting even more goals as he chases the title of the league’s top scorer, as well as trying to top his career best return of 21 goals achieved last season.
‘We’ve a good few games left and I just want to try and score as many as I can to try and help the team,’ he said.
‘There’s six or seven games to go so let’s see how many I can get.’
It was a day to remember for McMillan as he left Tallaght with the man of the match award and another winners’ medal in his back pocket.
‘It sounds pretty good all right,’ he said when the achievement was put to him.
‘It was a brilliant start for us and to help the team by scoring is brilliant. We always looked dangerous like we were going to get a second one and thankfully it came with a brilliant finish by Patrick in the second half.
‘I’m thrilled. I think Garts said I had a balaclava on to rob man of the match but that’s kind of irrelevant because once we got home with the trophy I’m happy.’
McMillan admitted he was fearful his early header wouldn’t go in after Simon Madden got a head on it but said the goal was just the tonic Dundalk needed to go on and win the match ‘I think there was a second or two of anxiousness where it came off the crossbar and I didn’t know whether it would go over
the line.
‘We were talking during the week about making sure we got a good start in the game. We didn’t want to be put on the back foot early on as we were here earlier in the season. It was important for us to start well and to get such an early goal was the perfect start for us.
‘I thought in fairness to Rovers they played some good stuff in the first half and probably had more of the ball but I thought we looked a real threat on the break.
‘I hit the side-netting, Michael Duffy had a good shot saved and we looked like we might nick a second. Obviously the sending off has helped us a little bit but certainly in the second half we were much more in control and gave up very few chances. The guys at the back were very dominant and put in a brilliant performance. Our good run has been based on a lot of clean sheets as well as scoring goals. There have been seven or eight clean sheets in as many games and when you have that it just takes one goal to win a game.’
While McMillan took plenty of the plaudits he was quick to praise fellow goalscorers Patrick McEleney and Thomas Stewart for their contributions.
‘Patrick’s one was a brilliant goal and a brilliant move. He smashed it in off the post. It was a smashing finish and I was delighted for Tommy because he has played most of the games in this competition but he was struggling during the week with injury and only today was it confirmed he would be able to play any role so to come on and score is brilliant for him.
‘t was a fantastic ball through by Sean and Tommy took it so well. It was nice to put a good finish on it for us.’
Now McMillan is targeting another victory over Rovers when the sides meet in the FAI Cup semi-final on October 1st at Oriel Park
‘It’s a big game for us. Our aim now is to win two trophies and we want to keep our league form going well going into that game and hopefully we can give the town of Dundalk another cup final to enjoy in the Aviva,’ he said.