🗞️ Match Preview | Dundalk FC vs UCD

Dundalk FC
Sep 25
3 min read

📅 Date: Friday, September 26, 2025

⏰ Kick-off: 7.45PM

📍 Venue: Oriel Park

Dundalk return to Oriel Park for their penultimate home fixture of the season this Friday night looking to bounce back when they host UCD in Matchday 33 of the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division.

The Lilywhites were beaten 3-2 by Longford Town at Bishopsgate last Saturday evening, a setback that ended an impressive unbeaten run. Despite the result, Ciarán Kilduff’s side remain firmly in control of their destiny. They sit top of the table on 69 points, six clear of Cobh Ramblers in second, with four games left to play. Dundalk’s run-in sees them face UCD and Finn Harps at home, with trips to Athlone and Cobh on either side. With the title and promotion within touching distance, every fixture is now vital.

📈 UCD’s Form

UCD make the trip north in good spirits, having won back-to-back games to strengthen their grip on a playoff place. The Students currently sit fourth on 52 points, 11 ahead of Treaty United, and well clear of Wexford who remain outside the top five.

They edged Kerry 2-1 last Friday and beat Longford by the same score line the week before. In their last five outings, UCD have picked up three wins, a draw, and just one defeat. Sean Brennan has been their leading scorer this season with seven goals, and his threat in the final third will be central to their chances at Oriel.

⚔️ Previous Meetings

This is the fourth and final meeting between the sides in 2025, with Dundalk holding the upper hand so far.

Back in April, Dundalk travelled to the UCD Bowl and came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a second-half strike from Leo Gaxha. The return game in June at Oriel Park ended 1-1 when Harry Groome’s opener was cancelled out by Adam Verdon. The most recent clash in August also came in Belfield, where a Daryl Horgan penalty and a dramatic late penalty save from Enda Minogue secured a 0-1 win.

With Dundalk chasing the title and UCD looking to seal their playoff place, this final encounter has plenty at stake for both clubs.

🗣️ Kilduff’s Thoughts

Reflecting on the Longford defeat, Ciarán Kilduff admitted his side are hungry to respond.

“Obviously we know that we didn’t have probably our best performance on Saturday, probably our worst performance of the season, and we hopefully take a lot of lessons from it. I think we’re looking for a reaction from the group. They’ve been brilliant across 32 games to be in the position we’re in and we could only have dreamt of that. But we’re playing a really good team in UCD, who drew with us in Oriel earlier this year and who are full of young and senior talent. They’re on a strong run of form themselves so we know it’s going to be a tough game. The group have trained hard this week, they’ll continue to do so, and we’ll be ready for Friday night.”

📋 Team News

Aodh Dervin returns from suspension, but Dundalk are still without a number of key players. Mayowa is suspended, while Shane Tracey misses out through injury picked up against Longford. Long-term absentees Leo Gaxha, Sean McHale, who underwent surgery earlier this week, Daryl Horgan, and Conor O’Keefe all remain sidelined. Despite the absences, Kilduff has emphasized the importance of focus and a strong reaction from those available.