2013 Dundalk F.C. season
# 2013 Dundalk F.C. season

Dundalk entered the 2013 season having spent the 2012 season rooted in the relegation play-off spot. The club had been put up for sale, and, with the assistance of a Supporters Trust, it was taken over by local businessmen Andy Connolly and Paul Brown (owners of the team's official sponsors, Fastfix). They subsequently managed to remain in the top-flight by winning a promotion/relegation play-off. With the takeover complete and the club saved, the new owners turned to Stephen Kenny - out of work since being sacked by Shamrock Rovers - to become the new manager ahead of the season. 2013 was Dundalk's fifth consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 78th in all, and their 87th in the League of Ireland.

## Season summary

When the 33 round League programme commenced on 8 March 2013, neither supporters nor pundits were sure what to expect, and Dundalk failed to win any of the first five home matches. But with Kenny's team clicking into gear as his ideas took hold, they rose up the table to mount an unexpected title challenge, eventually finishing second - a defeat to eventual champions St. Patrick's Athletic ultimately costing them the title.

In the cup competitions, they exited in both the second round of the League Cup, and the quarter-final of the Leinster Senior Cup, to Shamrock Rovers. They reached the semi-final of the FAI Cup and were defeated 1–0 away to 'Louth Derby' rivals, Drogheda United, in a tempestuous game - referee Anthony Buttimer sent off two Dundalk players inside half an hour, and Drogheda took the lead from the penalty spot after the second red card. But the nine men of Dundalk prevented Drogheda scoring again.

### First-Team Squad (2013)

Sources:

| Name | Date of Birth | Position | Debut season | League appearances | Goals |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Peter Cherrie | 25 September 1981 | GK | 2009 | 33 | 0 |
| John Sullivan | 6 January 1991 | DF | 2013 | 28 | 1 |
| Brian Gartland | 4 November 1986 | DF | 2013 | 13 | 2 |
| Andy Boyle | 7 March 1991 | DF | 2013 | 32 | 1 |
| Chris Shields | 27 December 1990 | MF | 2012 | 19 | 1 |
| Stephen O'Donnell | 15 January 1986 | MF | 2013 | 22 | 3 |
| John Dillon | 2 August 1988 | MF | 2013 | 29 | 5 |
| John Mountney | 22 February 1993 | MF | 2012 | 20 | 2 |
| Vinny Faherty | 13 June 1987 | FW | 2013 | 22 | 1 |
| Keith Ward | 12 October 1990 | MF | 2013 | 17 | 1 |
| Kurtis Byrne | 9 April 1990 | FW | 2013 | 30 | 7 |
| Dane Massey | 17 April 1988 | DF | 2013 | 30 | 4 |
| Richie Towell | 17 July 1991 | MF | 2013 | 31 | 7 |
| Patrick Hoban | 28 July 1991 | FW | 2013 | 28 | 14 |
| Darren Meenan | 1 October 1991 | MF | 2013 | 28 | 0 |
| Tiarnan Mulvenna | 10 December 1988 | FW | 2003 | 21 | 5 |
| Mark Rossiter | 27 May 1983 | DF | 2013 | 28 | 0 |
| Stephen McDonnell | 28 June 1992 | MF | 2012 | 11 | 0 |
| Francis McCaffrey | 22 April 1993 | MF | 2013 | 7 | 0 |
| Jordan Keegan | 5 February 1992 | MF | 2013 | 6 | 0 |
| Eoghan Osbourne | 5 March 1992 | DF | 2011 | 5 | 0 |

## Competitions

### Premier Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | St Patrick's Athletic (C) | 33 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 56 | 20 | +36 | 71 | Qualification to Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Dundalk | 33 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 55 | 30 | +25 | 68 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sligo Rovers | 33 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 53 | 22 | +31 | 66 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Derry City | 33 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 56 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 52 | |
| 6 | Cork City | 33 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 46 | |
| 7 | Limerick | 33 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 38 | 46 | −8 | 42 | |
| 8 | Drogheda United | 33 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 44 | 46 | −2 | 38 | |
| 9 | UCD | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 45 | 73 | −28 | 30 | |
| 10 | Bohemians | 33 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 27 | 47 | −20 | 29 | |
| 11 | Bray Wanderers (O) | 33 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 33 | 66 | −33 | 27 | Qualification to Relegation play-off |
| 12 | Shelbourne (R) | 33 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 25 | 56 | −31 | 21 | Relegation to League of Ireland First Division |

### FAI Cup

Source:

### League Cup

Source:

### Leinster Senior Cup

Source:

## Awards

### Player of the Month

| Month | Nationality | Player | Reference |
| - | - | - | - |
| July | Ireland | Patrick Hoban | |
| August | Ireland | Richie Towell | |

### PFAI Players' Young Player of the Year

| Person | Reference |
| - | - |
| Richie Towell | |
