Dundalk F.C. in European football

Dundalk's first involvement in European football was the 1963–64 European Cup, as the 1962–63 League Champions, drawing Swiss champions FC Zurich in the preliminary round. Their first match was the home-leg, played in Dalymount Park in Dublin on 11 September 1963,[8] as Oriel Park did not have floodlights. Following a chastening 3–0 defeat,[9] they travelled to Switzerland for the return leg more in hope than expectation. A first away win for any Irish club in a European tie followed, inspired by forward Jimmy Hasty. In the match they took a two goal lead, with Hasty then hitting the crossbar as they looked to level the tie. A late goal for the home side settled the tie, but gave Dundalk a 2–1 victory on the night.[10] After having to play the Zurich tie in Dalymount, the installation of floodlighting in Oriel Park ahead of the visit of Vasas SC of Hungary four years later, and the narrow 1–0 defeat that followed, left the town "justifiably proud" at their club's achievement.[11]

The following season saw a number of European firsts for Dundalk - they entered the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for the first time, and won both their first European match in Oriel Park and their first European tie when defeating DOS Utrecht.[12] They then met Glasgow Rangers in the following round and were well beaten,[13] with crowd trouble caused by the visiting Rangers fans in Oriel Park and around the town marring the tie.[14] The match had taken place in the midst of the violence surrounding the Civil Rights marches taking place in Northern Ireland at the time. A 14–0 aggregate thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in the Fairs Cup a year later, at a time when the club was struggling financially due to sizeable capital debts, remains their biggest defeat in European competition.[15]

Dundalk player-manager Jim McLaughlin in action away to PSV Eindhoven in 1976

When Dundalk won the League in 1975–76 under Jim McLaughlin, it brought European football back to the town for the first time since 1969. In the following season's European Cup they met PSV Eindhoven, and were deemed unlucky to only draw the first leg in Oriel Park.[16] That match started an unbeaten run in Europe in Oriel Park of eight matches over the following five seasons.[17] In the following season's Cup Winners' Cup they defeated Hajduk Split at home,[18] but an argument over players' expenses before the journey to Yugoslavia for the return leg, which saw two players left at home, scuppered an opportunity to progress.[19] The unbeaten run at home included draws with Porto,[20] and Tottenham Hotspur.[21] They also secured what remains their record victory in Europe – a 4–0 victory over Fram in the 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup.[22] The run came to an end in 1982, when they lost 4–1 at home to a Liverpool side inspired by Irish international Ronnie Whelan, who scored twice in Oriel,[23] and again in Liverpool's 1–0 victory in the second leg. Unbeknown to the club and its supporters at the time, the Liverpool tie was to be McLaughlin's last European tie at the club.[24]

The European highlight of McLaughlin's time at the club was the 1979–80 European Cup. The Double winning side overcame Linfield in a tie marred by rioting in Oriel Park, which occurred at the height of The Troubles.[25] Linfield were punished by UEFA for the actions of their supporters by being banned from playing their home-leg in Belfast, and being forced to pay for damage to Oriel Park and Dundalk's expenses for the return leg.[26] That return leg was played behind closed doors in Haarlem in the Netherlands, with Dundalk winning 2–0 (3–1 on aggregate).[27] They then defeated Hibernians of Malta in the next round to reach the last-16 and a tie with Glasgow Celtic.[28]

The prize for the winners would be a quarter-final tie with Real Madrid. Following a highly creditable 3–2 defeat in the away leg in Parkhead, a record attendance in Oriel Park[29] witnessed a scoreless draw, with club stalwart Tommy McConville coming closest to scoring the goal that would have put them through on away goals.[30] The 1979–80 European Cup run was the subject of a documentary made in 2015 – Once In A Lifetime - produced by Square 1 Productions and broadcast on Setanta Sports on 6 August 2015.[31]

Dundalk played six European ties between 1987 and 2002 (including glamour ties against Ajax Amsterdam, the Cup Winners' Cup holders, in 1987–88,[32] and Red Star Belgrade in 1988–89[33]), losing five of these ties without scoring a goal. But in the 1991–92 European Cup they took the lead away to Honved in Budapest, with the game finishing 1–1.[34] This was the club's best European result in 10 years, and the first time they had not lost an away leg since 1968 (the 'away' leg against Linfield in 1979 having been played at a neutral venue). An away goal to the good, a disappointing 2–0 defeat in Oriel Park[35] cost the club a second round tie with Sampdoria, at a time when Serie A was the dominant and most popular league in Europe,[36] and when they were in need of a glamour tie to rekindle interest in the domestic game. The Honved match would be the last played in Oriel Park until 2010 – the Malmö tie in 1995 being played in United Park in Drogheda, due to the Oriel pitch being relaid, and the Varteks tie in 2002 being played in Tolka Park, due to Oriel not meeting UEFA's upgraded standards for football stadiums.[37]

Oriel Park hadn't seen European football since 1991 and, as things were, the ground didn't meet UEFA's requirements for hosting games were the club to reach Europe again. So, after qualifying for the Europa League qualifying rounds in 2010, a concerted effort was made to ensure the matches would be played in Oriel – the 'BE-TOP' (Bring Europe to Oriel Park) campaign.[38] The first European match in Oriel for nearly 19-years saw Dundalk defeat Grevenmacher and make it through to the second qualifying round.[39] Levski Sofia were next, and the gulf in standard was reflected in the 8–0 aggregate defeat.[40] European football was back in the town, but the subsequent ownership crisis in 2012 left supporters wondering if big European nights would ever return.[41]

Following a revival in the club's fortunes under Stephen Kenny, however, they again made it to the second qualifying round in the 2014–15 Europa League. Kenny's side gave an indication of their potential on the European stage, by defeating Hajduk Split in Split on a 2–1 scoreline – just failing to score the goal that would have won the tie on away goals.[42] The following season an opportunity was missed against BATE Borisov in the Champions League, when a 0–0 home draw wasn't enough to take advantage of an away goal scored in the first-leg of the second qualifying round.[43]

Dundalk forward David McMillan in action in the 2016–17 Europa League.

The 2016–17 Champions League saw the club qualify for the Champions League play-off round, after they first defeated FH of Iceland,[44] then came from a goal down in the tie to defeat BATE 3–0 in Tallaght Stadium,[45] winning through 3–1 on aggregate. Dundalk drew Legia Warsaw, with the first leg played in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in front of a crowd of 30,417.[46] They suffered a 2–0 defeat in the home leg, but shocked Legia in the return leg by taking a 1–0 lead through Robbie Benson's volley. With Dundalk pushing for the equaliser that would have taken the tie to extra-time, Legia scored on the break, and won the tie 3–1 on aggregate.[47]

Defeat in the play-off round meant that the club qualified for the group stage of the Europa League, only the second Irish team to have done so. A draw with AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands,[48] followed by a victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Tallaght Stadium,[49] were the first points earned by an Irish club at this stage of a European competition – both the equaliser in Alkmaar and the winning goal in Tallaght being scored by Ciarán Kilduff. In the third match they took the lead in Tallaght against Zenit St Petersburg, and were 20 minutes from topping the table, before eventually losing 2–1.[50] In a campaign that would run from 13 July to 8 December, five weeks beyond the end of the domestic season, Dundalk failed to pick up any more points in the remaining matches. But they had attracted considerable attention.[51][52]

Following the club's long campaign in 2016, losing to Rosenborg after extra-time in the Champions League second qualifying round tie the following season was a disappointment, even with the financial and organisational disparity between the sides.[53] In January 2018 the club was taken over by United States-based investors, who had identified European progress as an opportunity.[54] But progress that summer was limited when, after defeating Levadia Tallinn and holding AEK Larnaca scoreless in Oriel Park, three quickfire first half goals in the away leg in Cyprus in the 2018-19 Europa League second qualifying round ended their interest in that year's competition.[55]

On foot of winning the League in 2018, they entered the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. After being seeded in the draw, they faced Riga, drawing the home leg in Oriel Park 0–0. The away leg in Riga was the club's 70th match in European football, which also finished 0–0. After extra-time failed to separate the sides, they won 5–4 in a sudden-death penalty shootout, becoming the first Irish side to win a tie in that manner.[56] They were knocked out in the second qualifying round by Qarabağ when a 1–1 home draw was followed by a 3–0 defeat away in Baku,[57] which saw them receive a bye into the Europa League third qualifying round. Their interest in Europe for the season ended there, with a 4–1 aggregate defeat to Slovan Bratislava, which was characterised by the lack of clinical finishing that had dogged the side throughout the campaign.[58]

As of 13 August 2019[59]