2015 FAI Cup
| FAI Irish Daily Mail Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  Republic of Ireland |
| Teams | 40 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Dundalk |
| Runner-up | Cork City |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 39, plus replays |
The 2015 FAI Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the 2015 FAI Irish Daily Mail Senior Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 95th season of the national football competition of the Republic of Ireland. The winners of the competition earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League.
A total of 40 teams competed in the 2015 competition, which commenced in March 2015. The teams entered from the
Teams
| Round | Clubs remaining |
Clubs involved |
Winners from previous round |
New entries this round |
Leagues entering at this round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 40 | 16 | N/A | 16 | Leinster Senior League Munster Senior League Ulster Senior League |
| Second round | 32 | 32 | 8 | 24 | League of Ireland |
| Third round | 16 | 16 | 16 | none | none |
| Quarter-finals | 8 | 8 | 8 | none | none |
| Semi-Finals | 4 | 4 | 4 | none | none |
| Final | 2 | 2 | 2 | none | none |
First round
The draw for the First Round of the FAI Cup was made on 7 April 2015 at Abbotstown by FAI President Tony Fitzgerald and Brendan Clarke. 20 intermediate and junior clubs were present in the draw. [3]
| 24 April | St. Mary's A.F.C. | 0–1 | Avondale United | |
| 19:30 | Report | Roy Long  pen.' |
| 25 April | Crumlin United | |||
| 14:00 | Report |
| 25 April | Cobh Wanderers FC | 2–0 | Clonmel Celtic | |
| 14:30 | Report |
| 25 April | Cockhill Celtic F.C. | 1–0 | Casement Celtic | |
| 17:00 | Report |
| 26 April | Killester United | 3–0 | Dunboyne AFC | |
| 14:30 | Report |
| 26 April | UCC | 0–4 | North End United | |
| 15:00 | Report |
| 26 April | St. Mochta's | 5–2 | Arklow Town | |
| 11:00 | Report |
Second round
The draw for the Second Round of the FAI Cup was made on 6 May 2015 at the Aviva Stadium by Paul McGrath and FAI President Tony Fitzgerald and contained 32 teams, with the 20 League of Ireland teams entering the competition. Ties played on the weekend ending 31 May 2015.[4][5]
| 29 May | Dundalk F.C. | 5–0 | Shelbourne F.C. | Oriel Park |
| Report |
| 29 May | Wexford Youths | 0–2 | Cork City F.C. | Ferrycarrig Park |
| Report |
| 29 May | Terryland Park | |||
| Report |
| 29 May | Drogheda United F.C. | 3–1 | Cabinteely F.C. | United Park |
| Report |
| 29 May | Saint Patrick's Athletic | 2–1 | Shamrock Rovers F.C. | Richmond Park |
| Report Report |
| 29 May | Bohemian F.C. | 4–1 | Firhouse Clover | Dalymount Park |
| Report |
| 29 May | Bray Wanderers | 3–1 | Limerick F.C. | Carlisle Grounds |
| Report |
| 30 May | Athlone Town F.C. | 3–2 | Liffey Wanderers F.C. | Athlone Town Stadium |
| Report |
| 30 May | Killester United | 3–0 | Cobh Ramblers | Hadden Park |
| Report |
| 31 May | The Showgrounds | |||
| Report |
| 31 May | Belfield Bowl | |||
| Report |
| 31 May | St. Mochta's | Charlie O'Donnell Sports Grounds | ||
| Report |
| 31 May | Cobh Wanderers FC | 3-3 | Avondale United | Oldchurch Park/Avondale Park |
| Report Report |
| 31 May | Edenderry Town F.C. | 0–3 | Derry City F.C. | Father Paul Park |
| Report |
Third round
The draw for the third round took place in Sligo on 17 July and was made by Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill and FAI president Tony Fitzgerald. Fixtures were played on the weekend of August 23.[6]
| 21 August | Tolka Rovers | 0–4 | Killester United | Frank Cooke Park |
| Report |
| 21 August | Galway United F.C. | 1–4 | Dundalk F.C. | Eamonn Deacy Park |
| Report | Attendance: 761 Referee: Robert Rogers |
| 21 August | The Brandywell | |||
| Report |
| 21 August | Athlone Town F.C. | Clontarf Astro/Athlone Town Stadium | ||
| Report Report |
| 21 August | Bray Wanderers | Dalymount Park | ||
| Report |
| 22 August | Sligo Rovers | Oldchurch Park | ||
| Report |
| 21 August | Saint Patrick's Athletic | Turners Cross | ||
| Report | Attendance: 1,748 Referee: Paul McLaughlin |
Quarter-final
The draw for the quarter-finals of the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup were made on 23 August with Irish under 21 manager Noel King and FAI Director of Competitions Fran Gavin overseeing proceedings.[7][8] Ties were played on Friday 11 September. The draw featured 6 League of Ireland Premier Division teams and 2 non-league sides.
| Bray Wanderers | 2–0 | Killester United | Carlisle Grounds | |
| Report |
| The Brandywell | ||||
| Report |
| City Calling Stadium | ||||
| Report |
Semi finals
The draw was made by former Republic of Ireland international Keith Fahey, who was a member of the St Patrick’s Athletic team that won the trophy in 2014, and Fran Gavin, Director of Competitions at the Football Association of Ireland. The draw was broadcast live on RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland programme and also on RTE News Now. On Friday 2 October Dundalk defeated Longford Town 2 - 0.[9] Cork City defeated Bray Wanderers 1-0 on Sunday 4 October. The match was broadcast live on RTÉ2.[10]
| 2 October | Dundalk F.C. | 2–0 | Longford Town F.C. | Oriel Park |
| Report |
| 4 October | Bray Wanderers | 0–1 | Cork City F.C. | Carlisle Grounds |
| Report |
Final
| 8 November 2015 | Dundalk | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Cork City | Aviva Stadium |
| 15:30 | Richie Towell 107' |
Report | Attendance: 25,103 Referee: David McKeon |
References
- ^ "Plenty of surprises in FAI Ford cup second round". FAI.ie. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Cork City 0-1 Dundalk". RTE Sport. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "2015 Irish Daily Mail FAI Senior Cup first round draw". FAI.ie. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "St Patrick's Athletic draw s in FAI Cup second round". RTE Sport. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "2015 Irish Daily Mail FAI Senior Cup second round draw". FAI.ie. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ "Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup third round draw made". FAI.ie. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
- ^ "Quarter final draw made". FAI.ie. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "Cork and Dundalk avoid each other in FAI Cup quarter final draw". The 42. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "Dundalk double dream alive after Longford win". RTÉ News.
- ^ "Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup S-F Draw". FAI.ie. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.