TJ has become the youngest-ever goal scorer for Dundalk's first team

15-year-old Dundalk striker TJ Molloy was the focus of much of the attention at Roundstone in Dublin last Friday night, as the Oriel Park side beat Shamrock Rovers U21 side with a four-nil win to qualify for the quarter-final of the Leinster Senior Cup.

One of the goals was scored by the Republic of Ireland under-15 striker, as the young Castlebellingham man sent Dundalk on their way to a win which also knocks Rovers out of the Leinster Senior Cup.

TJ has been the focus of much attention of clubs outside of Dundalk and will continue to add to the formidable profile he is building up about himself.

After Friday's game, I spoke to someone who is well aware of young TJ's ability. This person has said to me before how good the Irish underage international is.

Following Friday's game I was told that there is no reason why this young man could not be another Mason Melia. The 17-year-old Pats striker signed for Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of over two million pounds sterling.

Taking account of add-ons to the deal, Pat's could in total end up with over four million pounds sterling for the youngster. Dundalk must look after TJ as his career progresses.

Hopefully, he will stay at the club and allow himself time to mature into a prolific striker. Whether he does ever leave for a significant transfer is in the hands of the gods. It does not matter either.

I have no doubt that TJ will play a part in Dundalk's push for promotion this season. It's going to be interesting to see how this works out. But TJ has now become the youngest-ever player to score a goal for the Dundalk first team.

He beats the record held by Peter McParland who scored two goals for the Dundalk team on 20th September 1950 in the Leinster Senior Cup game against Bohemians.

Dundalk won 5-2 that day. He was just 16 and a half years of age. Peter went on to make 23 appearances for Dundalk between 1950 and 1953.He scored 14 goals in total over that period.

Over the three seasons, he got two league goals, three in the Shield, One in the Dublin City Cup, two in the Leinster Senior Cup, and one other game where he failed to get a goal. In season 1950-51, he made four appearances for Dundalk.

He scored twice. Those goals in 1950 were the ones that made him the youngest ever player to score for the Dundalk first team until TJ Molloy smashed his record last Friday almost three-quarters of a century later.

In 1950-51 he made 14 first team appearances for Dundalk scoring three times. He made just 5 appearances with Dundalk in his final season with Dundalk. He scored three times.

He moved to the UK to play for Aston Villa for a fee of 3,880 pounds sterling. It's going to be very interesting to see how TJ Molloy progresses. He is already in the history books with his goals last Friday.

Dundalk have a side bursting with natural young talent. It's to manager Ciaran Kilduff's credit that he is allowing the youngsters to battle for a place in the first team.

Luke Mulligan, Sean Spaight, Mayowa, Eoin Kenny, Ethen Vaughan and TJ all lined out for Ciaran Kilduff on Friday night. Andy Parashiv, Peter Cherrie and Keith Ward also came into the side.

There were seven changes in total from the team that beat Drogheda United by one goal to nil at Oriel the week before.

Youngsters Vinnie Leonard and Sean Keogh were left on the bench along with keeper Enda Minogue, vice-captain Aodh Dervin, Harry Groome, Leo Gaxha and Dean Ebbe. 

Dundalk tool the lead on fourteen minutes, when TJ Molloy found a way past Rovers keeper Todd Bazunu with a clinical finish to the bottom corner of the net.

Eoin Kenny scored for the second week in a row with a superb strike while skipper Daryl Horgan made it three on the half hour.

Kilduff made three changes at half -time replacing Cherrie, Mayowa and TJ Molloy with Enda Minogue, Gaxha and Aodh Dervin coming in.

Dundalk added a fourth in the second half with Leonardo Gaxha scoring after being put through by Daryl Horgan. Dundalk finished ahead of Rovers in the group and qualified for the next stage of the competition.

Usher Celtic will be the other side to join them. Keep an eye out on TJ Molloy's progress this season along with Sean Spaight, Eoin Kenny, Luke Mulligan, Sean Keogh and Vincent Leonard.

They are a highly talented group of players who seem to have a great future ahead of them. The big factor is that they are all from the area.

It would be great to see them help Dundalk battle it out for promotion. But Dundalk must have a good balance of youth and experience in the side. They have experienced players. I just feel they need one or two more to add to the team.

In three days' time, Dundalk begin their fight to make an immediate return to the Premier Division. Athlone, Cobh Ramblers, UCD and Dundalk are all being seen as the teams who will be in the hunt for the automatic promotion spot.

Dundalk are the bookies' favourites. That means nothing. There is no doubt they have the ability to be in the final shake-up. But to take the automatic promotion spot will be a massive ask.

Cobh are the team to watch out for. They have gone full-time this season. American investment has come flooding into the club. They have signed a large number of experienced players.

They are top class and will take some stopping. On 4th December they took on ex Glentoran manager Mick McDermott. That signing was some statement by the County Cork side of where their ambitions are for this season.

Mick McDermott was a highly successful manager with Glentoran in the Irish League. He would not be going down to Cobh if he was not confident that he could not bring success to the Ramblers this season.

On Wednesday the league launch took place at the Mansion House in Dublin. It gave me a chance to talk to all the First Division managers.

Mick McDermott told me that he could not see a team running away with the First Division in the same way Cork City did last season. I agree with this.

McDermott says it will be a much closer chase this season. He mentioned Dundalk, Athlone, UCD and Cobh as the sides to watch.

He says the club have built a new training gym and other facilities that are already ensuring his side will be a force next season.

On top of this, they are largely full-time this season. This hé believes will give his team a massive advantage over his opponents.

He agreed that Cobh had signed very well in the pre-season. And he is confident that the experienced players could help Cobh get the top spot.

McDermott says he is well aware of the threat of Dundalk to his own ambitions. He is a regular visitor to Oriel Park. Dundalk, he says, can bounce back. But he warns that it is very difficult to get out of the first Division.

We all know that in Dundalk. Interesting that Dundalk will play Cobh in the last game of the season at Saint Colman's Park. Imagine if both sides are going for the title that day. It would be some finale to the season.

I spoke to Ciaran Kilduff and Aodh Dervin at the Mansion house last Wednesday. One thing that surprised me was a comment from Aodh Dervin.

I had suggested during the interview that Dundalk were part-time this season. Aodh was very keen to stress that Dundalk were full-time.

He was adamant that there was no change to that status. The only difference was that they were training at night now rather than during the daytime.

Aodh's determination and confidence that Dundalk will return to the premier division next season is intriguing. In his mind, there is no doubt about this. And he wants to rectify the wrongs of last season.

Ciaran Kilduff told me that he was still very much in a learning phase with his team. ''We have a lot of new players and we are trying to get everything together as quickly as we can.

"There will be more good days to come. But there may also be some difficult days as we have so many new players and a new owner. Everything said is new at the club.

"There has been a great re-building at the club which the fans and the local media both understand. Both you and the fans can see what we are trying to do on the pitch.

"We are trying to galvanise things. I am confident that we are definitely on the right path. I could not be happier with the team that we have put together.

"We have some young hungry players in the team. That could be seen in the Drogheda game and the Leinster Senior Cup game against Shamrock Rovers on Friday night.

"We have got to ensure that both of those games were not just one-off. We must ensure that we have that approach to every game this season. The support we got against Drogheda was massive.

"This support was a huge bargaining tool for me to sign the players I have got for the coming season. The history of the club and its domination of Irish soccer were other factors that drew people to the club.

"We are not getting carried away about our wins over Drogheda and Shamrock Rovers. Those games are now over. We have forgotten about them.

But we are hoping that our players will get such inspiration playing in front of our supporters at home every week as we did against Drogheda, that Oriel will be a fortress.

"There is no reason why it can not be. The lads are just itching to play against Athlone on Friday night. They want to get the same response from the home fans as against Drogheda.

"The pitch is the pitch. We accepted that a long time ago. We have enough battles to be going on before worrying about the pitch.

"It is most certainly something down the line that we hope can be improved on. But we are happy enough with it right now. We play on it and we train on it. But to be honest I have given the pitch very little thought.

"You can see by their players that Athlone have done some unbelievable recruitment. They are a club who will be looking to win the league.

"There is no doubt about it. They are a really really top team. They will be up for the game on Friday. Obviously, we took some players from  them, that's just the nature of football.

"There is such a small pool and market of players. We are going to give Friday's game everything we can.I expect nothing other than a really tough game. They have exceptional players. It is the toughest game that we could have started with.''

"Sean Keogh and Vincent Leonard are really talented. Eoin Kenny is such a talented striker that I hope we could have another Mason Melia on our hands.

"But listen we have other special talent in our squad that could be certainly termed as other potential Mason Melia's. But Eoin is certainly expected to have a big season.

"I want the side to be as competitive as it can be. Of course, I would love to say that we go straight back up. There is no way I am going to say that this is not the aim.

"But we are going to hit some bumps along the way. It's not going to be plain sailing. With a young squad, we are going to have good nights and bad nights.

"We are a brand new team and entity. We are going to take every game as it comes and give it our all. The first win we get is so important. Hopefully, that will be Friday night.

"We want to get momentum going. That is what we need. It's important that we can get off to the right start as well. I have no plans in bringing in any new players or players before the start of the season."

Meanwhile, Athlone Town manager Dario Castello says he has assembled a very good squad. ''We have been very good in the pre-season and we are looking forward to the year ahead.

"We are expecting a very competitive season. There are some very strong teams in this league and we are looking at their performances closely.

"The race for the automatic promotion places will be more balanced this season. No one team is going to forge ahead and dominate the league as we have seen in other seasons.

"We are really looking forward to the start of the season. We simply just cannot wait to get going. Athlone Town is a very good club. I am very proud to work there.

"My aim is to get promotion out of this league and I think we can do it. Everybody belonging to the club is singing off the same hymn sheet.

"This is so important. This could be a good season. We are very keen to prove that last year's near miss on getting a promotion place was no fluke.

"We were leading Bray by two goals to nil in the promotion playoffs with twenty minutes remaining. We blew it and lost the game 3-2. But we have put that defeat well behind us.

"We have been very professional about that defeat. It will not have any effect on us whatsoever. I am really looking forward to the first game of the season at Oriel Park against Dundalk.

"The first game is always very exciting for both the teams and the supporters. This season will be a very long one. But we will be going to Dundalk in three days' time to fight for the three points.

"We will be using all of our capacity and ability to get three points at Oriel. I think the top teams in the Division are very balanced. Both Athlone and Dundalk have very good players. But just wait and let us see who has the best team.

"The new players we have signed will give a better balance to the team. We are happy with the players that we have for next season.

"But I would never say no if the right player came along who would strengthen us further. It will be a very good game against Dundalk on Friday.

"It's been ten years since the sides last met in a competitive game. It would be great for Athlone to get the three points in Oriel.

"However, playing Dundalk in their own backyard is never an easy game. Despite the strength that they will show, I am confident that we can get the three points.''

Aodh Dervan says he is feeling very excited as the new season dawns. ''After the highs of beating Drogheda last Friday week, I just can't wait to get going.

"Everything is going in the right direction. But what matters now is next Friday against Athlone and getting our first home win in the league.

"We know how hard it is to get promotion from the First Division. We are not approaching the season thinking that we will just simply go straight back up.

"You must win your games in football. That is what you have to do. We are training harder than anybody. It's full-time training. We are not expecting any easy games.

"We are not part-time. We are still training full-time. We are training in the evenings. There is no difference to the full-time training we did last season.

"It's full-time. It's intense. It's everything it's supposed to be. People that think we are part-time. We are not part-time. I think supporters saw in the game against Drogheda that we are not part-time.

"They saw how fit we were and how hungry we were also. We need to use our fitness as our strength. You were at the Drogheda game as was my dad.

"The supporters at the game could see how fit we were. We are motoring along nicely. We are eager to start the season with a win against Athlone. I am telling you now Gerry, the lads we have now in the group  are ready for the Athlone game.

"I think the fans who saw us against Drogheda, saw how much we are up for and ready for the new season. The Drogheda game was not just a one-off thing.

"We really are going for it this season. It's been hard just waiting to get the season going. We are ready and we are waiting. The only thing in our minds is the Athlone game.

"We are very eager to get the win to show supporters that we mean business this season. It was difficult for a while not knowing what was going to happen this season.

"We were faced with possible liquidation or at the very least going through the Scarp process. But as soon as I knew we were going to face the new season with no penalties, there was never a doubt in my mind that I wanted to stay at Dundalk.

"Everybody is different and you can not knock the lads who decided to move on. Decisions are different. People are different. I always had it in my head that I wanted to stay. That was even from last season.

"Look, we are looking good in the preseason. But what happens on Friday nights in the league both home and away is all that counts. Athlone have strengthened very well.

"We need to make Oriel a hard place to come to and use that to our advantage. It's good to get a big game like Athlone Town as our first game of the season.

"Of course, the first win would mean so much. We need to get a good start. Indeed we must start on Friday as we mean to go on.

"We want to win games and the Athlone game is no different. It's so important that we have a good year. I can really feel the buzz around the town. We owe the supporters so much by sticking by us last year. Now  it is up to us to pay them back.

"We all want the same thing for Dundalk and the fans. We want to get this club back to where it belongs. We have a good blend of youth and experience.

"As vice-captain I have let all the players know that if they need me, they know where I am. We are all doing it for the right reasons. We all want to win football matches.

"I feel great as the countdown to the season continues. It's been great to play matches for Dundalk in the build-up to the start of the season, as we did not know if we would ever again line out in the black and the white of which I am so proud of''.

With that, my interview with Aodh ended. I can't describe the respect I have for this man. He comes across as a man who will give everything to get Dundalk promoted this season.

It's a long time since I have interviewed a Dundalk player who is so genuine about his love for the club. With Aodh and Daryl heading the Dundalk team on the field, you could not have any better players that will inspire Dundalk throughout the season.

On Thursday Dundalk confirmed the departure of CEO Peter Halpin. In a statement, the club said that Peter had been a pivotal figure in the stabilising of the club during its very difficult time.

Peter joined the club in early 2024. Club owner John Temple said that Peter had worked tirelessly during his time in Oriel.

He says that for that he is very grateful as all Dundalk fans should feel lucky to have had the club in such steady hands during what was a very difficult time. 

Peter says it was  tough making a decision to depart. It was he said a pleasure working at Oriel. But he now looks forward to concentrating on his own work as a football agent.

Peter will continue to help the club move forward in any way he can. This will help the club to build on the work achieved in the last number of months.

Finally, Richie Towell has announced that he will be stepping back from professional football following the launch of a new business Foundations Football Academy.

Richie was very keen to join Dundalk and repay the club for helping him to kick-start into such a successful career. The rumour mongers speculated that Richie decided not to return to Oriel because the club could not meet his financial demands.

This was entirely untrue. It was the fact that Dundalk are now training at night time that scuppered hopes of an Oriel return. Richie's work at the Academy meant that it would take up much of his time at night.

Thus the change from daytime to nighttime training meant that playing for Dundalk was never going to work. Richie is now believed to be on the brink of signing for a Leinster Senior League team. I wish Richie the best for the future.

And so the big kick off for the season starts next Friday. Let's hope it will be a successful season for Ciaran Kilduff and Dundalk. The long battle to return to the Premier division starts now.

Have a great week. Please remember to look after each other. And of course be careful out there.