Robbie Benson received a standing ovation as he scored on his last appearance for Dundalk in a ‘Unite the Union’ Cup final rout.



And Jamie McGrath, whose own future with the champions is in doubt with Fleetwood Town now understood to be in the mix, also got in on the scoring act.



Benson’s move to St Pat’s is expected to be confirmed later this week and the reception he got when whipped off with 20 minutes to play was telling.



He was embraced warmly by team-mates and then coaching staff alike, while the home fans in turn stood in unison to acknowledge his four-season contribution to the club.



But while Dundalk are already resigned to losing the 27-year-old, they have not given up hope that McGrath could stay.



Mirror Sport understands that League One side Fleetwood are keen on the 23-year-old who scored Dundalk’s third goal here with a fine shot from distance.



This is not the treble success Dundalk set out for at the start of the season, but they landed their third trophy of the season in style.



It was a runaway success at Oriel with Georgie Kelly, Brian Gartland and McGrath all scoring in the first-half to easily snuff out the Linfield challenge.



While proposals for a united league look dead in the water for now, the return of a Setanta Cup-styled competition remains a strong possibility.



Linfield fans travelled here in large numbers and while the Garda presence outside the ground was particularly noticeable, the night passed off without incident.



The loudest cheer of the night was reserved for the tannoy announcer’s faux pas late on when he said: “The Unite the Nation...I mean Union, man of the match is…”



Benson put Dundalk 4-0 up in the 65th minute and home chants of ‘Can we play you every week’ was just rubbing salt in the wounds.



So too was Georgie Kelly’s second of the night with 15 minutes to play and then Pat Hoban’s header in the dying stages.

(Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne)

It was a convincing Dundalk win in all facets, but Blues boss David Healy had made it clear that his priority is chasing down Coleraine rather than road-testing All-Island possibilities.



Any hopes the Blues had of forcing the issue died a death inside 16 minutes as the Lilywhites raced into an early lead they would not surrender.



Vinny Perth’s charges were ahead after just seven minutes.



Daniel Kelly snatched at a Michael Duffy cross but Georgie Kelly was on hand to turn home from close range.



Skipper Brian Gartland doubled the lead with a thundering header from Duffy’s corner, soon after.



And it was curtains for Linfield 10 minutes before the break when Jamie McGrath beat Rohan Ferguson with a low shot into the corner from distance.



Linfield refused to let their heads drop and dominated the opening stages of the second half and Mulgrew forced Aaron McCarey to save at full stretch.



But if anything, it woke Dundalk from a brief lull and it wasn’t long before they were dictating pace and tempo once again.



And Benson brought the curtain down on his Oriel Park stay in style.



On the verge of signing for St Pat’s, he raced onto a punt forward and beat Stephen Fallon for pace before angling the ball to the corner.



And Dundalk were not finished there as Georgie Kelly bagged his second late on before Hoban, off the bench, completed the job with a late header.



DUNDALK: McCarey; Gannon, Gartland, Cleary; Massey; Shields, Benson (Mountney 68); D Kelly, McGrath (Lotefa 74), Duffy, G Kelly (Hoban 79)



LINFIELD: Ferguson; Casement, Robinson (Allen 70), Callacher, Clarke; Mulgrew; Millar (Reynolds 78), Fallon, Hery, Quinn; Waterworth (Shevlin 78).



Referee: Stephanie Frappart (France)

If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.