Trio fight for PFAI award

A DUNDALK player is guaranteed to win the PFAI Player of the Year award for just the third time after Patrick Hoban, Michael Duffy and Chris Shields were all shortlisted for the coveted honour last week.

Richie Towell in 2015 and Daryl Horgan in 2016 are the only Dundalk players who have previously won the award but a Lilywhites player is guaranteed to win this year after three players from the one club were all nominated together for the first time. A Dundalk player could also win the Young Player of the Year award with Jamie McGrath nominated alongside Shamrock Rovers’ Dylan Watts and Bohemians’ Daniel Kelly.

Six Dundalk players were also named in the PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year with the three player of the year nominees selected alongside Robbie Benson, Sean Hoare and Sean Gannon – the latter of whom has made the team for a fifth season in-a-row.

The PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year is as follows: Shane Supple (Bohemian FC); Sean Gannon (Dundalk FC), Sean Hoare (Dundalk FC), Sean McLoughlin (Cork City), Darragh Leahy (Bohemian FC); Chris Shields (Dundalk FC), Robbie Benson (Dundalk FC), Bastien Hery (Waterford FC); Kieran Sadlier (Cork City), Patrick Hoban (Dundalk FC), Michael Duffy (Dundalk FC).

Meanwhile, Georgie Kelly has been named in the PFAI First Division Team of the Year and is also up for the Player of the Year award following his performances for UCD. The awards will take place on Saturday November 10thin The Marker Hotel in Dublin and will be broadcast on eirSport.