It’s safe to say Ciaran Kilduff won’t be forgetting this birthday any time soon.
The Kilcock man, who turned 28 on Thursday night, came off the bench during to score the only goal of Dundalk’s 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in Tallaght Stadium.
Kilduff scored a late equaliser during the Lilywhites’ 1-1 draw away to AZ Alkmaar a fortnight ago, and he was the hero for the League of Ireland outfit again as he met Daryl Horgan’s cross perfectly to guide the ball into the net and send the home support into dreamland.
With that effort, he wrote Dundalk into the Irish sporting history books as they became the first club team from our shores to win a group game in a major European competition.
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 29, 2016
While the goal may have been priceless for the scorer, it was very lucrative for the club.
Every team that wins a Europa League game this season will be rewarded with a tasty €360,000 bonus. To put that into perspective, Dundalk were awarded €100,000 for winning the League of Ireland title in 2014, another 100 large for winning it last year and if they complete a three-in-a-row this campaign, they’ll get another €110,000.
After adding together all those figures (with our trusty abacus) we have concluded that €310,000 is a smaller number than €360,000.
Will it be Mayo (or the Dubs) 4 Sam? Wooly, Paul Galvin and Conán Doherty preview Saturday’s All-Ireland final replay.
