A YEAR AGO, when Dundalk beat Cork City 1-0 in the FAI Cup final to clinch the double, striker Seánie Maguire was an unused squad member for the Lilywhites.
Fast-forward 12 months and the Kilkenny native will be out to score the goals to stop Stephen Kenny’s side doing the ‘double double’.
Having been central to three wins for John Caulfield’s side over the Louth club – the President’s Cup and twice in the league – Maguire is focused on achieving another rather than trying to prove a point.
“We’ve played Dundalk four times this year and we’ve beaten them three times, so they’re not invincible,” he says.
“I was up there last year for a couple of months, it was frustrating not playing, this time last year I didn’t even make the bench for the cup final.
People are asking me if I’m looking forward to getting revenge but I don’t see it that way, I feel that I’ve proven my point all season.
“John took a game bringing me down here and I’ve tried to repay that faith. On Sunday, I’m going to just try to take it as any other game, I know it’s the Aviva and a big occasion but we’re buzzing for it.”
It has been a good year for Maguire. He finished as top scorer in the league and won the PFAI Young Player of The Year Award while also representing the Republic of Ireland at U21 level.
There is still time for more success before 2016 ends, and he is keen for the Rebel Army faithful to bask in the glory of some silverware.
“Obviously, confidence is high on a personal level and as a group,” he says.
“If someone came to me at the start of the year that I’d end up top scorer and win young player of the year, I wouldn’t have believed them, I wouldn’t have dreamed of it.
Hopefully, we can win on Sunday and end the year on a high because I think we deserve it as a group. It has a been a great year, obviously it’s disappointing finishing second to Dundalk but I think people are quick to forget that we had a great run in Europe.
“We owe it to ourselves to bring some silverware back to Cork and we owe it to the fans as well, they deserve it for coming out in their numbers all year and I think that they’ll bring a massive crowd on Sunday.”
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