Dundalk secure Europa League draw at Alkmaar against all odds… and earn more prize money than for winning Irish Premiership
CIARAN KILDUFF netted a last-gasp Europa League goal worth more than winning the Irish league to Dundalk.
The substitute nodded in against AZ Alkmaar to grab his team a shock 1-1 draw against Louis van Gaal‘s former club – and a £100,000 pay day!
Not bad for what was, officially, a seven-minute shift.
Kilduff was sent on late on with Dundalk a man down a goal down to Stijn Wuytens’ strike… and in danger of being blown away.
But the forward got in front of former Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar to meet Daryl Horgan’s free-kick and send the travelling fans wild – many who would not have made the game if not for a lift from their own MANAGER!
The memories will last a lifetime but Kilduff made sure he got a physical souvenir too.
He said: “You usually need a hat-trick for the match ball but I made up my own rules! The referee asked me for it but I said ‘no way’ and kept on walking.
Group A
Feyenoord 1 Manchester United 0
Zorya Luhansk 1 Fenerbahce 1
Group B
Young Boys 0 Olympiakos 1
APOEL 2 Astana 1
Group C
Mainz 1 Saint-Etienne 1
Anderlecht 3 Qabala 1
Group D
AZ Alkmaar 1 Dundalk 1
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 3 Zenit St Petersburg 4
Group E
Astra Giurgiu 2 Austria Vienna 3
Viktoria Plzen 1 Roma 1
Group F
Sassuolo 3 Athletic Bilbao 0
Rapid Vienna 3 Genk 2
Group G
Panathinaikos 1 Ajax 2
Standard Liege 1 Celta Vigo 1
Group H
Konyaspor 0 Shakhtar Donetsk 1
Sporting Braga 1 Gent 1
Group I
Salzburg 0 Krasnodar 1
Nice 0 Schalke 1
Group J
Qarabag 2 Liberec 2
PAOK 0 Fiorentina 0
Group K
Inter Milan 0 Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2
Southampton 3 Sparta Prague 0
Group L
Osmanlispor 2 Steaua Bucharest 0
Villarreal 2 FC Zurich 1
Elsewhere in the competition, Slovan Liberec’s Jan Sykora netted the competition’s fastest-ever goal in in the Czech side’s 2-2 draw with Azerbaijani hosts Qarabag.
Zenit produced a stunning result to shock Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.
The hosts were 3-0 down before their Russian visitors took advantage of Eli Dasa’s dismissal to clinch victory with four goals in the final 13 minutes.
Frank de Boer suffered embarrassment in his first European game as Inter Milan boss by seeing his side go down to Hapoel Beer-Sheva, who Celtic downed to reach the Champions League group stages.
In Manchester United‘s group, Ukranian outfit Zorya held Fenerbahce to a 1-1 draw.
Liverpool flop Mario Balotelli drew a blank as Nice went down 1-0 to Chelsea loanee Baba Rahman netted for Schalke.
And West Ham’s conquerors Astra Giurgiu were defeated 3-2 at home to Austria Vienna.
