Drogs fail assignment as Students strike late

FRIDAY’S defeat at the hands of UCD leaves Drogheda United with a real battle if they are to remain in the First Division promotion race.

And just like the result of Britain’s EU membership referendum, declared just hours earlier, few would have predicted the eventual outcome as the battle drew towards its conclusion.

On polling day the word was that the ‘Remain’ campaign had done enough and similarly Drogheda looked to be in control of their destiny in United Park after performing at their best for an hour and taking the lead. However, there was to be a real sting in the tail in both cases and the Boynesiders eventually came away with nothing after conceding another late goal.

Drogheda rarely find things easy against the Students and this looked a particularly tough assignment against a UCD side seeking a fourth successive league win.

However, straight from the kickoff the Boynesiders dictated the pace of the game with a conviction they hadn’t previously shown at United Park this season.

As he did against Limerick before the mid-season break, manager Pete Mahon opted to play Marc Griffin up front alongside Sam O’Connor and once again the selection paid dividends in terms of making Drogheda a real attacking force.

The statistics from the first half alone told their own story as the hosts amassed an impressive tally of 14 goal attempts, but a 1-0 interval lead was a poor reward considering their dominance and that wastefulness in front of goal would come back to haunt them.

In fairness to UCD they played some equally composed, passing football, but their opportunities were more scarce as American centre-back Joe Jackson proved an excellent replacement for the absent Niall Cooney on his league debut.

Nevertheless, some of their chances were clear-cut and the warning signs were there even before the half-way stage that a lapse in concentration from the home defence could prove costly.

The feast of goalmouth action began in the opening seconds as Griffin raced onto an Aaron Molloy pass and unleashed a 20-yard shot that gathered pace as it bounced off the greasy surface. UCD netminder Niall Corbet did well to turn the ball around the post and Luke Gallagher headed the resulting set-piece over the bar.

The away side responded with a slick move that ended with Ryan Swan shooting narrowly wide, but Griffin was put through on goal again in the eighth minute from a brilliant Aaron Ashe flick-on, only to blaze over the bar when more composure was required.

Drogheda had a let-off when Dylan Watts got in behind left-back Stephen Dunne and his cross was met from six yards out by Swan whose header was well gathered by Stephen McGuinness Boynesiders’ goal.

Swan was made to rue that missed chance just seconds later as the home side conjured a fine opening goal. All the hard work was done by O’Connor who initially did well to hold the ball up under pressure. He eventually managed to get turned and dribbled between two defenders before crossing low to the near post for Derek Doyle to finish past Corbet.

The remainder of the first half was a tale of the respective defences being prised open by enterprising forward play from both teams.

Jackson and O’Connor combined to create a chance for Griffin whose shot was deflected behind, and Doyle then saw an effort blocked by Maxi Kouogun as Drogheda pressed hard for a second goal.

Griffin was guilty of a glaring miss in the 33rd minute at the end of an excellent team move. Aaron Ashe and Lloyd Buckley combined on the right flank before Sean Thornton dinked a superb cross into the box for the unmarked former Dundalk man. He looked certain to score, but got the timing of his jump all wrong and headed well wide. in the

Moments later Molloy swung a corner into the six-yard area and Jackson got up brilliantly to send a header inches wide.

Griffin’s composure let him down again on the stroke of halftime when Doyle, O’Connor, Molloy and Ashe were all involved in a move that ended with the number 7 blasting high over the bar.

At the other end Swan, Watts and winger Jason McClelland were posing the greatest difficulties for Drogheda and Swan in particular will wonder how he didn’t get on the scoresheet in that first half as keeper McGuinness commanded his area to good effect.

Still, it was the Boynesiders who looked the more likely scorers in the early stages of the second period.

The ever-alert Ashe was onto a mis-cued clearance in a flash and drove the ball across the sixyard box towards Jackson whose out-stretched boot couldn’t quite deflect the ball over the line.

Then Corbet parried a wellstruck Griffin effort and Doyle toepoked the rebound towards goal, only for Thomas Boyle to come to UCD’s rescue with a goal-line clearance.

Past the hour mark Drogheda still appeared to be in complete