Dundalk defender Brian Gartland celebrates after last month's win against Bohemians sealed their third successive Premier Division title. Tommy Dickson/INPHO
Pressure drop
Dundalk on the cusp of double-double but Gartland says 'there's no pressure on us'
A win against Cork City tomorrow at the Aviva will see the Premier Division champions retain the FAI Cup.
IT WAS WHILE watching Derry City lift the FAI Cup in 2012 that Brian Gartland, then at Portadown, began craving a move back down south.
A crowd of just over 16,000 saw the Candystripes beat St Patrick’s Athletic and among them was the current Dundalk centre-half. He felt the opportunity to play in a showpiece final at the country’s 50,000-seater national stadium was too good to pass up.
For Gartland, thoughts started turning towards a return south of the border to the League of Ireland. The following summer, Stephen Kenny made the call to the defender and now, the man from Knocklyon is set to line out in his second successive FAI Cup decider against Cork City tomorrow.
“The cup final is one of the main reasons I came back to play down south,” Gartland told The42 this week. “I was at the cup final in 2012 and I remember sitting there thinking, ‘I’m going to give myself the chance to play in one of these finals, to experience the atmosphere and play in the national stadium’ that I never had.”
The goalscoring defender, who turned 30 on Friday, enjoyed his first taste of Lansdowne Road 12 months ago, helping the Lilywhites to a 2-0 win over City to complete a memorable double. After missing Dundalk’s last trip to the Aviva for the Champions League play-off against Legia Warsaw in August, he’s itching to get back.
“It’s some experience. You’d never tire of it,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back there.”
Another Dundalk player keen to return to the Aviva Stadium this weekend is Ciaran Kilduff. Like Gartland, the striker missed the Legia Warsaw game earlier this year. His contribution to last year’s final win was restricted to a cameo off the bench.
Despite an injury-hit campaign, Kilduff’s importance to the Dundalk cause cannot be downplayed. He has scored 13 goals this season — including two memorable Europa League strikes and four goals en route to tomorrow’s FAI Cup final.
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Dundalk duo Ciaran Kilduff and Daryl Horgan during their time with Cork City. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s huge. We all have the memories of last year when Richie [Towell] scored,” Kilduff said. “We have the chance to do the double-double and everyone’s families and friends will be there. It is very special.”
The striker enjoyed arguably the most prolific spell in his career with the Leesiders during a loan spell at Turner’s Cross three years ago, scoring 11 times in 14 league appearances.
For the third season in a row, Dundalk’s domestic campaign ends with a Cork City showdown and after the Champions League win over their rivals last month, Kilduff believes they have the edge.
“That game was a statement,” he said. “Cork had turned us over twice — we didn’t want to win the league and know that they had turned us over three times. We are the two best teams in the league. It’s evident.
“That game probably did turn the season for us. We ended up wrapping it up then in the next few games. It gave us confidence and it probably hurt them a little.”
While just over 16,000 attended the cup final four years ago that so piqued Gartland’s interest in a League of Ireland return, Dundalk are set to bring a figure close enough to that number all by themselves this time.
Buses will pack the M1 southbound from Dundalk and special trains will make the journey from Dundalk’s Clarke Station, just down the road from Oriel Park. Last year’s impressive 25,000 attendance looks likely to be smashed.
“One of the owners is expecting 15,000 Dundalk fans at the game. That’s amazing,” Gartland said. “To bring that crowd from a small town is phenomenal. Everything is Dundalk-mad up here. After the recession and outside of Dublin — things are slow to pick up in towns like Dundalk.
“It had this image of a border town and different things. It’s great for the image of the town around the country and even abroad. Everyone is so proud. I suppose it takes legs, it snowballs and everybody wants to be part of it. It’s a good feeling. If we have 15,000 there roaring us on, it’ll be some day.”
The Dundalk players celebrate after winning last season's FAI Cup final against Cork City. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
The part-time basketball coach is a key man in Dundalk’s side and has become one of the most popular players in the Lilywhites team over the last number of campaigns. His no-nonsense approach to defending and goalscoring exploits at the other end have endeared him to supporters, but Gartland is very much ingrained in Dundalk life now.
He lives in the centre of town — close to Oriel Park — and is engaged to a local girl he met after he joined the club. Gartland a recognisable figure and often makes time to represent the club locally. With a win tomorrow, he hopes he and his teammates will be talked about the country over on Monday.
“It’s a massive, massive day in the season. Obviously winning the league is the priority but we don’t want to lose the cup final. It would be a huge disappointment,” he said. “It’s a showpiece game — you have all the fans from around the country who don’t always follow football watching.
“You want to be the winning team on the day — the one everyone is talking about it on Monday morning. We really want to push on and do the double. I want to win every trophy. There’s no pressure on us.”
Despite scoring seven league goals this season — and 24 in three and a half years at the club — the defender has yet to score a cup goal in Dundalk colours. Notching a first against Cork would go some way to sealing the double-double.
“It’d be a great time to get one. A cup final goal would be what dreams are made of. But if I can help keep them scoreless, that’ll worth the same for me and I’ll be happy with that.”
Kilduff himself will be hoping to have an impact, be it as a starter or from the bench. His goals against Shelbourne, UCD and Derry City have gone a long way to ensuring Dundalk have reached this point.
“We’ve had some amazing nights this year. I’ve had a couple of injuries — one in particular was a bad one — but I came back and the lads were setting up the stages for me to come back and put my stamp on the season, which I feel I have.
“The road to get here hasn’t been rocky, but we have made hard work of it at times. But you wouldn’t swap it for anything. It’s amazing to be part of it.”
Dundalk on the cusp of double-double but Gartland says 'there's no pressure on us'
IT WAS WHILE watching Derry City lift the FAI Cup in 2012 that Brian Gartland, then at Portadown, began craving a move back down south.
A crowd of just over 16,000 saw the Candystripes beat St Patrick’s Athletic and among them was the current Dundalk centre-half. He felt the opportunity to play in a showpiece final at the country’s 50,000-seater national stadium was too good to pass up.
For Gartland, thoughts started turning towards a return south of the border to the League of Ireland. The following summer, Stephen Kenny made the call to the defender and now, the man from Knocklyon is set to line out in his second successive FAI Cup decider against Cork City tomorrow.
“The cup final is one of the main reasons I came back to play down south,” Gartland told The42 this week. “I was at the cup final in 2012 and I remember sitting there thinking, ‘I’m going to give myself the chance to play in one of these finals, to experience the atmosphere and play in the national stadium’ that I never had.”
The goalscoring defender, who turned 30 on Friday, enjoyed his first taste of Lansdowne Road 12 months ago, helping the Lilywhites to a 2-0 win over City to complete a memorable double. After missing Dundalk’s last trip to the Aviva for the Champions League play-off against Legia Warsaw in August, he’s itching to get back.
“It’s some experience. You’d never tire of it,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back there.”
Another Dundalk player keen to return to the Aviva Stadium this weekend is Ciaran Kilduff. Like Gartland, the striker missed the Legia Warsaw game earlier this year. His contribution to last year’s final win was restricted to a cameo off the bench.
Despite an injury-hit campaign, Kilduff’s importance to the Dundalk cause cannot be downplayed. He has scored 13 goals this season — including two memorable Europa League strikes and four goals en route to tomorrow’s FAI Cup final.
“It’s huge. We all have the memories of last year when Richie [Towell] scored,” Kilduff said. “We have the chance to do the double-double and everyone’s families and friends will be there. It is very special.”
The striker enjoyed arguably the most prolific spell in his career with the Leesiders during a loan spell at Turner’s Cross three years ago, scoring 11 times in 14 league appearances.
For the third season in a row, Dundalk’s domestic campaign ends with a Cork City showdown and after the Champions League win over their rivals last month, Kilduff believes they have the edge.
“That game was a statement,” he said. “Cork had turned us over twice — we didn’t want to win the league and know that they had turned us over three times. We are the two best teams in the league. It’s evident.
“That game probably did turn the season for us. We ended up wrapping it up then in the next few games. It gave us confidence and it probably hurt them a little.”
While just over 16,000 attended the cup final four years ago that so piqued Gartland’s interest in a League of Ireland return, Dundalk are set to bring a figure close enough to that number all by themselves this time.
Buses will pack the M1 southbound from Dundalk and special trains will make the journey from Dundalk’s Clarke Station, just down the road from Oriel Park. Last year’s impressive 25,000 attendance looks likely to be smashed.
“One of the owners is expecting 15,000 Dundalk fans at the game. That’s amazing,” Gartland said. “To bring that crowd from a small town is phenomenal. Everything is Dundalk-mad up here. After the recession and outside of Dublin — things are slow to pick up in towns like Dundalk.
“It had this image of a border town and different things. It’s great for the image of the town around the country and even abroad. Everyone is so proud. I suppose it takes legs, it snowballs and everybody wants to be part of it. It’s a good feeling. If we have 15,000 there roaring us on, it’ll be some day.”
The part-time basketball coach is a key man in Dundalk’s side and has become one of the most popular players in the Lilywhites team over the last number of campaigns. His no-nonsense approach to defending and goalscoring exploits at the other end have endeared him to supporters, but Gartland is very much ingrained in Dundalk life now.
He lives in the centre of town — close to Oriel Park — and is engaged to a local girl he met after he joined the club. Gartland a recognisable figure and often makes time to represent the club locally. With a win tomorrow, he hopes he and his teammates will be talked about the country over on Monday.
“It’s a massive, massive day in the season. Obviously winning the league is the priority but we don’t want to lose the cup final. It would be a huge disappointment,” he said. “It’s a showpiece game — you have all the fans from around the country who don’t always follow football watching.
“You want to be the winning team on the day — the one everyone is talking about it on Monday morning. We really want to push on and do the double. I want to win every trophy. There’s no pressure on us.”
Despite scoring seven league goals this season — and 24 in three and a half years at the club — the defender has yet to score a cup goal in Dundalk colours. Notching a first against Cork would go some way to sealing the double-double.
“It’d be a great time to get one. A cup final goal would be what dreams are made of. But if I can help keep them scoreless, that’ll worth the same for me and I’ll be happy with that.”
Kilduff himself will be hoping to have an impact, be it as a starter or from the bench. His goals against Shelbourne, UCD and Derry City have gone a long way to ensuring Dundalk have reached this point.
“We’ve had some amazing nights this year. I’ve had a couple of injuries — one in particular was a bad one — but I came back and the lads were setting up the stages for me to come back and put my stamp on the season, which I feel I have.
“The road to get here hasn’t been rocky, but we have made hard work of it at times. But you wouldn’t swap it for anything. It’s amazing to be part of it.”
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