Irish & Northern Ireland Chelsea fans

[Mr. Reid]

I don't like the look of the 'XI' and I haven't found anything about it on the Chelsea website but Dundalk F.C. are advertising a pre-season friendly against a Chelsea XI in August. I thought you might like to know.

http://www.dundalkfc.com/dundalk-fc-v-chelsea-xi-august-14th

[Zola]

Nice!

Thanks for pointing that one out, will get down to it :)

[Guest]

Live in Galway City. Hmmmm.....might go. I wonder who's playing for Chelsea XI.

[Mr. Reid]

Live in Galway City. Hmmmm.....might go. I wonder who's playing for Chelsea XI.

that's a fair auld trek.

I'm curious about who'll be playing myself,

Edited June 20, 2012 by Mr. Reid

[Little Boy Blue]

Community Shield 12th August, Prem 18th August. Wont be a strong line up at all

[Mr. Reid]

Aye, I'm not expecting anything more than the reserves to turn out

[Zola]

Getting tickets for this tonight I think.

[Carloseyebrow]

I would make it up there in about 3 hours , but seeing as I finish work at 7pm its unlikely. I wonder what the team will be , its surely going to be reserves anyhow still would be nice to go and support the lads.

[Zola]

Got my tickets this morning. 15 euros each, nice. Makes a difference compared to £60 at the Bridge !

I work outside Lisburn, so Dundalk is only 40 mins from work.

The fact that the game isn't even listed on the CFC website tells me that it will be good reserves at best. I could probably run on the pitch with my shirt on for a kickabout and not be noticed.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Zola

[EmeraldBlue]

Thank you. I saw a Chelsea youth team play St. Pat's a few seasons back and it was very entertaining.

[Zola]

Dundalk FC are gearing up for an exciting friendly against an XI from UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea at Oriel Park next Tuesday evening, 14 August (kick-off 7pm).

The game will be the first time the Lilywhites have entertained foreign opposition in a friendly since the visit of nine-time La Liga winners Atlético Madrid three years ago.

Indeed, Oriel Park is no stranger to European giants, having entertained the likes of Liverpool, Celtic, Ajax, Porto, PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspur, Red Star Belgrade and more recently Levski Sofia in UEFA competition.

Chelsea were last season crowned European champions and also won the English FA Cup, and the London Blues are set to travel to Ireland with a youthful squad but one that contains exciting prospects.

Among those is England U19 international defender Todd Kane, who was part of the first-team squad that flew to Munich for the UEFA Champions League final in May while he was also part of the summer tour of the United States.

The versatile Nathan Ake, who captained the Netherlands to U17 European Championship glory in May, and Billy Clifford, who has seen first-team action, are also set to travel.

It promises to be a real treat for the Dundalk footballing public and people of the North East. Tickets have been keenly priced for the game, making it very affordable for all.

“We are delighted to be welcoming a team with the stature of Chelsea. We have been promoting the game for the last 6-8 weeks so we’re hoping for a big turnout,†said Dundalk FC General Manager Paul Johnston.

“There has been very big interest from around the country, with ticket sales linked to Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Mayo, Cavan and right around the country.

“Many of those areas have Chelsea Supporter Clubs and they have bought tickets in numbers, with some Supporter Clubs buying over 50 tickets for the game.

“The Premier League is big business and places like Bray, Waterford, Dublin, Cork and Longford have all staged these kind of matches recently and have had crowds of up to 6,000 turning up to watch.

“Dundalk is very much a football town and we hope for a great turnout for the match.â€

Tickets for the match are selling extremely well, and those planning to attend are advised to purchase in advance. Supporters should note that all Juvenile (U16) Stand tickets are now sold out, while only a limited number of Adult Stand tickets remain.

The prices are as follows: Stand: Adults €15. Ground: Adults €10, Juveniles (U16) €5. Family tickets are also available for the Ground: 2 Adults & 2 Children €20, 1 Adult & 2 Children €15.

Tickets are available over the phone or at the Oriel Park office (phone: 042-9335894), as well as the TCCM Office at the Square, Harvey Norman in the Retail Park and Jack Murphy Jewellers in Newry.

Other players set to make the trip include midfielder George Saville, tied to the club until 2015, who trained with the first-team squad towards the end of last season and also went to the US with Roberto Di Matteo’s side.

Goalkeeper Sam Walker is another. Last season, he was a regular while on-loan to League Two side Northampton Town and then League One outfit Yeovil Town. He recently signed a contract to keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2014.

Fellow stopper Mitchell Beeney will also make the trip, a son of former Leeds United netminder Mark, who played at Elland Road for seven years during the 90s.

Scotland’s youngest ever U21 international, striker Islam Feruz, England U17 internationals John Swift and Lewis Baker, England U19 international Patrick Bamford, and Sweden U18 international Amin Affane are also in the squad.

We'll be lucky if any decent reserves go.

[Zola]

Just got back from this and sadly it was pretty poor standard.

Granted, most of the players were around 18 or so....The only two players who remotely stood out for me was Todd Kane (although he missed a COMPLETE sitter from 8 yards out with no keeper), and a young Dutch centre back called Ake.

Ake had little to do to be honest, but he was calm and measured and was probably the only one who didnt make a host of mistakes. He looked like the most mature one of the bunch. He has David Luiz hair too, so he must be good ;)

Dundalk Town play in the Irish premier league and finished 7th last year. They were calm and organised, but they werent great either. I would love to say they fought for their lives and are the reason Chelsea only just nicked it with 5 minutes to go... but this isnt the case.

Some of the simplest of passing was beyond grim, and strangely some of the best passes were Hollywood throughballs!

All in all a decent wee night, but most of the kids here are far way off even the reserves by the looks of things.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Zola

[TJB]

Who scored?

[Zola]

I didn't quite see, came from a corner a bit of scramble in the box.

[TomW]

Who scored?

Bamford

[Carloseyebrow]

Just got back from this and sadly it was pretty poor standard.

Granted, most of the players were around 18 or so....The only two players who remotely stood out for me was Todd Kane (although he missed a COMPLETE sitter from 8 yards out with no keeper), and a young Dutch centre back called Ake.

Ake had little to do to be honest, but he was calm and measured and was probably the only one who didnt make a host of mistakes. He looked like the most mature one of the bunch. He has David Luiz hair too, so he must be good ;)

Dundalk Town play in the Irish premier league and finished 7th last year. They were calm and organised, but they werent great either. I would love to say they fought for their lives and are the reason Chelsea only just nicked it with 5 minutes to go... but this isnt the case.

Some of the simplest of passing was beyond grim, and strangely some of the best passes were Hollywood throughballs!

All in all a decent wee night, but most of the kids here are far way off even the reserves by the looks of things.

Nice report , fair play to ya for heading there on a shocking day.