2017 Dundalk F.C. season
# 2017 Dundalk F.C. season

Dundalk entered the 2017 season as the reigning League Champions from 2016, having won the title for the third year in a row, and having come off a successful Europa League run that saw them become the first Irish club to both win points and win a match in the group stage of European competition. 2017 was Stephen Kenny's fifth season at the club as manager. It was Dundalk's ninth consecutive season in the top tier of Irish football, their 82nd in all, and their 91st in the League of Ireland.

## Season summary

The new season's curtain raiser - the President's Cup - was played on 17 February in Turners Cross between Dundalk and Cork City - the winners of the FAI Cup the previous year. Cork City won on a scoreline of 3-0. The 33 round League programme commenced on 24 February 2017, and was completed on 27 October 2017. Dundalk relinquished their title to Cork City, finishing as runners-up. They subsequently lost the 2017 FAI Cup Final to Cork City in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished 1-1. However, Kenny's side did pick up the club's sixth League Cup, with a 3-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in the final. They were also runner-up in the Leinster Senior Cup, losing 4-2 to Shelbourne in the final.

In Europe they were knocked out at the first hurdle, losing to Rosenborg after extra-time in the Champions League second qualifying round. This was a disappointment after the club's exploits in 2016, even with the financial and organisational disparity between the sides.

### First-Team Squad (2017)

Sources:

| Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth | Position | Debut season | League appearances | Goals |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Gary Rogers | 25 September 1981 | GK | 2015 | 29 | 0 |
| 2 | Seán Gannon | 11 July 1991 | DF | 2014 | 25 | 2 |
| 3 | Brian Gartland | 4 November 1986 | DF | 2013 | 26 | 3 |
| 4 | Paddy Barrett | 22 July 1993 | DF | 2015 | 15 | 0 |
| 5 | Chris Shields | 27 December 1990 | MF | 2012 | 26 | 0 |
| 6 | Stephen O'Donnell | 15 January 1986 | MF | 2013 | 20 | 1 |
| 7 | Michael Duffy | 28 July 1994 | MF | 2017 | 32 | 8 |
| 8 | John Mountney | 22 February 1993 | MF | 2012 | 16 | 1 |
| 9 | David McMillan | 14 December 1988 | FW | 2015 | 30 | 16 |
| 10 | Jamie McGrath | 30 September 1996 | MF | 2017 | 28 | 6 |
| 11 | Patrick McEleney | 26 September 1992 | MF | 2016 | 26 | 10 |
| 12 | Shane Grimes | 9 March 1987 | DF | 2005 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | Dane Massey | 17 April 1988 | DF | 2013 | 26 | 2 |
| 15 | Seán Hoare | 15 March 1994 | DF | 2017 | 17 | 0 |
| 16 | Ciarán Kilduff | 29 September 1988 | FW | 2015 | 20 | 6 |
| 16 | Dylan Connolly | 2 May 1995 | MF | 2017 | 9 | 1 |
| 18 | Robbie Benson | 7 May 1992 | MF | 2016 | 27 | 9 |
| 19 | Niclas Vemmelund | 2 October 1992 | DF | 2017 | 24 | 4 |
| 21 | Conor Clifford | 1 October 1991 | MF | 2017 | 15 | 0 |
| 22 | Gabriel Sava | 15 September 1986 | GK | 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | Stephen Kinsella | 22 August 1998 | MF | 2017 | 9 | 1 |
| 26 | Thomas Stewart | 12 November 1986 | FW | 2017 | 23 | 2 |

## Competitions

### President's Cup

Source:

### Premier Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Cork City (C) | 33 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 67 | 23 | +44 | 76 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Dundalk | 33 | 22 | 3 | 8 | 72 | 24 | +48 | 69 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Shamrock Rovers | 33 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 54 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Derry City | 33 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 51 | Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Bohemians | 33 | 14 | 5 | 14 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 47 | |

### FAI Cup

Source:

### League Cup

Source:

### Leinster Senior Cup

Source:

### Europe

**Champions League**

Source:

**Champions League**

**Second qualifying round**

Rosenborg won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Awards

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | References |
| - | - | - |
| June | Patrick McEleney | |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Transferred to Jacksonville Armada in July.
* ↑ Signed from Bray Wanderers in July and took the departed Kilduff's squad number.
