Dundalk FC

 Oriel Park, what a proper old fashioned ground. A joy to visit, a stones throw from the railway station and Dundalk Town centre, where I based myself post match due to no late trains onward, as is the norm in Ireland.

The ground consists of a huge steep main stand, in which I took my seat at the back corner towards the away supporters. It boasts two excellent wind shields that keep the cold out however make sure your view of each goal is not obstructed by them! I visited the club shop which is outside the ground in an office of the main stand, unfortunately they only had very limited stock, no pin badges and the staff thought I was Scottish, I can assure you I'm not! So it was hard work in there, but once inside it was like walking back in time, reminded me of football grounds of old that I visited in my youth. Food and drink is provided by various vans rather than any concession huts run by the club, but round the far side where the Dundalk ultras stand, the wee silver van did me proud, chicken goujons and chips and a 7up for 11 euro and they were very tasty I could have almost had a second portion. If you want a snack post match with your cup of tea or pint back at the hotel, the petrol station right outside the ground offers a wide variety of sugary snacks and crisps.

Onto the game and the plastic pitch at Oriel is one of the better examples, making for a smooth playing surface that promotes passing football. The Dundalk number 7 immediately caught my eye, skipping past Shamrock players for fun, albeit having looked to see who he was he was no spring chicken, it was indeed former Republic of Ireland and Preston winger Daryl Organ and now Dundalk captain and my word he is a cut above in the Irish league even at the ripe old age of 34. Dundalk pressed Shamrock at every opportunity giving them no time and forcing mistakes. They played so well first half but went in goalless and I wondered if their chance was gone. Shamrock came back out with more purpose, making a couple of attacking subs at half time, but buoyed by the great vocal support and the ultras pyro displays Dundalk weathered the storm and came back into it. It was that man Horgan on 78 minutes with a pin point crossfield pass and the lad made no mistake smashing past ex Oxford keeper Mcginty. It was backs to the wall after that, Dundalk reduced to 10 men, I thought unfairly and Shamrock rained down the pressure on goal, hitting the woodwork firing wide when clean through and forcing the keeper into some unbelievable stops but Dundalk hung on for a memorable win, crowd just under 3000 but sounded and felt like a lot more.