General
- Tuesday February 2nd, 2021 @ 13:00
Our 2021 Fixtures Explained
The new League of Ireland season is fast approaching and we can't wait for the action to begin again.
For many, the resumption of the season in August last year was a bright light during a particularly dark year for football fans in Ireland.
St Pats fans especially will be looking forward to the campaign with the first round of fixtures is due to get underway on the weekend of the 19th of March
Back To Action
We've got a Dublin derby away to Shamrock Rovers to look forward to on the opening night of the new campaign (March 19th, Tallaght Stadium, 8pm)
Both games last season ended scoreless.
It will be an action packed first couple of months of the season with 14 games scheduled to take place before the end of May!
The mid-season break will be between the 30th of May and 10th of June. Following the break, we will recommence our season with a trip to newly promoted Longford Town on the 12th of June.
The 2021 FAI Cup will begin on the week ending Sunday July 25th with the final in it's traditional end of season spot on Sunday November 28th.
Should there be any last-day drama, we will travel south to take on Waterford on Friday the 19th of November at the RSC.
Derby Day
Saints fans love a Dublin derby! They've got two to look forward to in the opening three games!
Our #Saints2021 will travel to Tallaght on the opening night, before welcoming newly promoted Drogheda United to Richmond Park on March 26th and then traveling to Dalymount Park on April 2nd for a clash with Bohemians.
We'll play Shamrock Rovers again on May 7th, this time at Richmond Park before welcoming Bohemians two weeks later. With the 10 team league back to it's usual fixture format, we'll play 36 league games in 2021 all going well, eight of them being big Dublin derbies!
Squad
Head Coach Stephen O'Donnell has been busy during the winter break, retaining key players like Lee Desmond, Jamie Lennon and Robbie Benson among others as well as making a number of impressive signings.
Experienced midfielder John Mountney has joined from Dundalk after nine seasons at Oriel Park while striker Ronan Coughlan is another welcome addition to the squad.
A former academy player at Huddersfield Town, Coughlan has enjoyed spells at Bray Wanderers, Cork City and most recently Sligo Rovers and will be hoping to add firepower to the attack.
Attacker Matty Smith and the versatile Sam Bone have joined from Waterford while Billy King and the club's all time league appearance holder Ian Bermingham also signed new contracts.
2020 Goal of the Season scorer Chris Forrester will also be a Saint for 2021, as will Shane Griffin, Jay McClelland, Darragh Burns and Ben McCormack.
O'Donnell also wished defender Luke McNally well this week, after his move to England League One side Exeter City.
Youth
St Patrick's Athletic were crowned SSE Airtricity National Under 19 league champions last December for the first time since 2014.
A dramatic injury time winner from Darragh Burns sealed a 2-1 win over Bohemians after Kyle Robinson had put the young Saints in front.
Four of that squad have been rewarded for their efforts with their first professional contracts.
Teenagers Cian Kelly (18), Kian Corbally (17), Josh Keeley (17) and Kyle Robinson (18) have all been promoted to the senior squad and all are still young enough to play for our U19s.
Fans
Not forgetting our fantastic supporters who only got to see four live games in 2020.
Richmond Park was packed for our opening night defeat to Waterford and for what turned out to be the last game in front of fans last season, a 1-0 win over Cork City thanks to a Billy King winner.
We also brought big away crowds to Shelbourne and Sligo before Covid-19 hit and they had to support us from home!
Our matches are not the same without the support roaring us on, they are hugely missed, but it has to be safety first, we are looking forward to a rocking Richmond Park again at some stage in 2021!
For now, please stay home, please stay safe, and stay supporting the Super Saints, we massively appreciate it!
Our full list of fixtures is available here.
