Hat-trick hero McMillan secures Cup for Dundalk

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David McMillan proved himself the hat-trick hero for Dundalk, who came back to beat Shamrock Rovers 4-2 after extra time to secure this year’s FAI Cup at Aviva Stadium.

After a stalemate in the first half, the game came to life in the 51st minute when Aaron Greene gave the Hoops a well-deserved lead, heading home at the back post.

But Dundalk bounced back with two goals in two minutes when David McMillan scored a double with 20 minutes remaining in what was the sixth consecutive FAI Cup final in Dundalk.

Rovers had been dominating before McMillan’s double and duly recovered with a header from Roberto Lopes in the 74th minute to send the game into extra time.

Two goals in the second period of overtime would suffice for the Lilywhites, as Sean Hoare’s first goal before McMillan parted ways to seal the win and avenge last year’s final loss.

Freezing temperatures at the Dublin 4 venue, but luckily the fog stayed away for the final game of the Covid-hit 2020 season.

Both teams came into play, employing three from behind and playing fast-paced football in the opening exchanges, Dundalk looking to stretch the Rovers, while the Dublin club were a bit more complex with their approach.

And it was the Hoops who got their first glimpse of the goal in the eighth minute when Graham Burke cut from the right, after picking up a loose ball, before hitting a low shot, but it didn’t bother Gary Rogers at Dundalk. objective.

Dundalk’s first real look at the goal came in the 17th minute from a set piece when Alan Mannus slammed into a Brian Gartland header.

At the other end, Aaron McEneff stung Rogers’ hands from 25 yards three minutes later as Rovers began to advance further into Dundalk territory.

But Dundalk looked dangerous on attack and a neat move from the right in the 26th minute led to a chance for David McMillan after Sean Gannon reached the baseline, however the forward strayed from the shot.

The Rovers were starting to keep the pressure inside the Dundalk half and Chris Shields took off Graham Buurke’s foot from behind to give the Hoops a great opportunity to make a set piece from the perfect position, in the middle and just outside the area.

Burke dusted himself off to launch a fierce southpaw free around the wall, forcing a good save from Rogers, who slammed the ball around the post and cleverly ducked to his right.

From the corner, a ball went through the goal, which Liam Scales pushed towards the goal; A handball cry was ignored by the referee, who awarded a corner that was finally cleared.

Jack Byrne tried his luck from a distance in the 33rd minute but swerved and then the Irish international was lucky enough not to be booked four minutes later for a taco challenge that sent Gannon flying.

Cameron Dummigan had Dundalk’s best effort in the 38th minute, firing a good shot from the left that stayed right and wide, while Aaron Greene crashed one for the Hoops as halftime approached.

A late collision between O’Brien and Shields turned out to be the most dramatic moment of the final stages of the half, as the Rovers defender literally took one for the team after a misguided header from Dylan Watts got in the way. of the captain of Dundalk.

A yellow for the former Ireland international as the team headed down the tunnel for tea; O’Brien would not return for the second half, as Lee Grace replaced the former West Ham defender.

Graham Burke’s close-range effort appeared to hit Shields in the arm from a corner kick in the 48th minute, but despite the huge appeal, the referee was well placed and dismissed the yelling. Shields’s arm was glued to his side and there was little he could do about it.

But it mattered little to the Hoops, who took the lead from the resulting corner when Lee Grace assisted a header to the back post where Greene deftly sent home under Dundalk’s plug advances.

The forward’s downward header seemed to be over the line before McMillan landed a bounce on the ball, however he slammed it into the roof of the net and the displeasure of scoring an own goal should be avoided.

Dundalk had his own penalty appeal rejected in the 53rd minute when Greg Sloggett appeared to be put into the box by Sean Kavanagh, but again the referee was not having it.

The Lilywhites did not help their cause in the 58th minute when they were caught in possession trying to play from behind when McEneff read Shields’ pass and sent Ronan Finn down the right.

Daniel Cleary flipped the Rovers captain over, but the free kick from outside the box was easily cleared.

Greene, the scorer, reveled in his role and ran three or four Dundalk defenders before trying his luck from the edge of the box; the shot drifted wide, but led to a period of sustained pressure with a pair of corners that almost allowed Scales to head butt on goal.

Dundalk was unable to get the ball out of his half when Sloggett was booked for leading with his elbow over Watts, however the respite came after Burke could only slam the free kick into the wall.

Out of nowhere, Dundalk tied in the 69th minute.

A ball into the box from the right fell between McMillan and Scales, the forward’s header blocked by the raised boot, but it was the forward who reacted faster and crashed his effort from the near post.

Moments later, Scales was involved again and this time it was determined that the young Rovers defender had thrown Dan Cleary to the ground and the referee signaled the spot.

McMillan sent Mannus the wrong way with a good penalty to double his score and give Dundalk the advantage.

It took just two minutes for the league champions to reestablish parity when a corner kick was won, and like Dundalk’s inability to tackle balls into the box midweek in the Europa League loss to Molde, Roberto Lopes appeared, climbed higher and guided a fine header into the top corner of the net.

Then Greene had another deflected effort just in the 77th minute as the Hoops looked to reassert their dominance, and McEneff should have done better with a free header a minute later, but the Derry native couldn’t get the keeper to work.

The game really started to open up in the last ten, as both sides looked a bit stretched with a hint of season-ending fatigue that worked its way into the icy finale of December.

A triple substitution for the Hoops in an effort to win him in regulation time, and their challenge began when Greene fired another effort on goal; this time Rogers could only stop the ball from his goal and McEneff was inches from connecting.

Puskas award nominee Jordan Flores was sent by the Lilywhites looking to replicate that goal, which was scored against the Hoops in the league game at Tallaght Stadium.

In injury time and with an additional 30 minutes looming, Rovers nearly snatched it up when Burke’s low shot through the goal somehow didn’t turn home, with Lopes and replacement Rhys Marshall just a few centimeters from contact.

And so another Cup final would go to extra time; the fifth time in six years that the blue band event cannot be decided in normal time.

Dundalk were the better team in the first half of extra time, but it was Rovers who came closest after a sweet counter from the right, which put Burke on goal three minutes before the break.

The Rovers leader reached for power and tried to wrap his foot around the ball to pass Rogers, but the ball flew off when precision was required.

In injury time in the first half, Gartland had to get a yellow to prevent McEneff from breaking into the area; Byrne’s free throw was later parried by Rogers, who took a hit upon landing.

But then Dundalk broke the deadlock in the sixth minute of the second period when a hopeful ball inside the box was only half cleared; the ball falls to John Mountney on the back post.

The midfielder’s missed shot fell fortuitously at the feet of his substitute teammate Sean Hoare, who guided the ball home from about thirty feet.

And then, with three minutes remaining and the Hoops engaged with their bodies forward, Daniel Kelly broke free on the right flank before cutting a perfect ball into the path of the incoming McMillan.

With the Cup almost won and the ball at stake, the man of the match was not wrong to ring the back of the net and take the trophy to Oriel Park.

Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Joey O’Brien (Lee Grace HT), Roberto Lopes, Liam Scales; Ronan Finn (Rhys Marshall 83), Sean Kavanagh (Danny Lafferty 83), Aaron McEneff, Dylan Watts (Greg Bolger 83), Jack Byrne, Graham Burke; Aaron Greene (Dean Williams HT ET).

Dundalk: Gary Rogers; Brian Gartland (Sean Hoare HT ET), Daniel Cleary, Andy Boyle; Sean Gannon (Darragh Leahy 96), Cameron Dummigan, Chris Shields, Greg Sloggett (Jordan Flores 87), Michael Duffy (Daniel Kelly 111), Patrick McEleney (John Mountney 96); David McMillan.

Referee: Robert Harvey.



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