Kenny set for ‘epic battle’ against Leesiders
Stephen Kenny’s last outing as a manager at the national stadium came in 2006 when he led Derry City to the FAI Cup after a thrilling 4–3 victory over St Patrick’s Athletic.
The seven goal classic, which was the last football match played at the old Lansdowne Road before it was demolished and rebuilt as the Aviva Stadium, was voted as the best FAI Cup final of all time and Kenny feels that this Sunday’s clash between his double chasing Dundalk side and Cork City has the potential to be just as thrilling.
“The FAI Cup final is a great occasion and this one has the makings of an epic battle,” he said.
“Cork City have been our main rivals over the past two seasons and they have players like Alan Bennett, Colin Healy and Liam Miller who were involved on the international stage so we have to respect that.
“We know we’ll have to work really hard to win the game. Cork will have a game plan and the matches we’ve had against them this season have been really tight, tough games so we know we’ll have to earn the victory.
“But, from our point of view, we believe in ourselves and what we can do. Nobody could have predicted what we have done this season, scoring a record number of goals and finishing 11 points ahead of Cork.
“Our pace in wide areas, on a big pitch, could be a factor but we’ll have to defend well and show composure when we’re in possession.”
Dundalk enter the final riding the crest of a wave. Friday night’s 4–0 win over Bray Wanderers saw them smash an all time scoring record and Kenny hailed the level of consistency from his players.
“They have answered every single question that has been asked of them this year and they have been incredibly consistent.
“You have to remember, that record is an all time record, one that stretches across every club in the league, over every season. There have been 36 game seasons in the past and teams haven’t come close to 78 goals so what we’ve achieved is incredible.”
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It was fitting that Richie Towell scored the goal that broke the record. The 24-year-old has been the undoubted star of Dundalk’s season and his 25 league goals mean he has now scored 43 times in just 96 league games for the champions.
“What Richie has produced this season has been something else and it was probably appropriate that he scored the last goal alright,” said Kenny.
“When we signed him he was regarded as a number four, a player who would sit deep with the Irish underage teams. To go on and score 25 goals in one season and be up there with players like Glen Crowe and Jason Byrne, strikers of that stature, is phenomenal.”
Towell and co will be urged on by a massive Dundalk support on Sunday. At least 10,000 fans are expected to make the trip south of the M1 to cheer on the Lilywhites and Kenny is aware of what a cup win would mean for the town.
“Winning the league means you are the best team in the country and it’s the most important trophy that there is but the FAI Cup is for the supporters.
“This will be the first time that Dundalk fans have been to the Aviva Stadium to support their team and it has captured the imagination of everybody in the town. It looks like the whole of Dundalk will be in Dublin for the final and that is terrific.
“Cup finals create memories,” he added. “In years to come you’ll have people recalling the final at the Aviva in the same way they remember where they were when we won the league against Cork and again in Tallaght this year.”
If his side win the game, they will be regarded by many people as the best Dundalk side to have ever played the game and Martin Lawlor, a serial league and cup winner with the Lilywhites for almost two decades, has already described the current group of players as worthy successors to the double winning vintage of 1979 and 1988.
“Even if we win the double, I don’t think we can compare ourselves to other teams. There have been some great players and managers at this club over the years and we have respect for them all,” said Kenny.
“I know about the tradition of bringing the cup over the bridge (at Hill Street) and going back to the Square but we have our own reasons for winning it,” he continued.
“We want to build on the progress we have made. The growth we have made as a club over the past three years is huge and the next step for us now is going to the national stadium to try and win the FAI Cup and complete a full set of domestic trophies in just two years.
“We’ll make sure we are well prepared,” he concluded. “As the game draws closer the main thing for us is to focus on the football and forget about everything else. I believe in the players and we want to finish the season on a high by winning the cup.”
