Keeper the saviour
DROGHEDA United goalkeeper Stephen McGuinness was drafted into the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad for the Uefa Championship Qualifier against Serbia, but the club’s 2-1 penultimate-round defeat away to Limerick ensured a nail-biting finale against UCD.
The Boynesiders needed a point to secure a play-off spot but grabbed all three as Marc Griffin and Adam Wixted scored on a memorable night in front of 1,087 fans at United Park.
And so it was on to a play-off against Cobh Ramblers, who had edged out UCD in the battle for third place, and the Drogs took a giant step towards qualifying for the Premier/First Division Play-off when winning the away leg 2-0 with goals from Griffin and Gareth McCaffrey.
But the home game proved to be a real nail-biter as Cobh struck twice in the opening nine minutes to cancel out the deficit. Stephen McGuinness then made some fantastic saves either side of what proved to be the decisive goal, as Gareth McCaffrey volleyed home to give Drogheda 3-2 aggregate advantage.
In the North East League, Newfoundwell were knocked off top spot in the Premier Division when closest rivals Muirhevnamor won 4-1 at St Joseph’s, but they heeded the wake-up call and beat Kingscourt by the same score in their next outing. Boyne Harps edged out Duleek 2-1 thanks to a late William Woods strike. Ardee Celtic inflicted Black Bull’s first defeat of the season in Division 1.
Drogheda Town launched their revamped kindergarten and academy at Marian Park, while their adult team enjoyed a fine 3-1 win at Corduff.
In rugby, Boyne led 14-0 after 10 minutes but ended up on the wrong side of a 33-19 scoreline at Bangor in the AIL. However, they bounced back when holding Midleton to a 22-22 draw at Shamrock Lodge.
Drogheda & District’s Orla O’Connor and Stephen Kelly won their respective races at the Louth Novice Cross-Country Championships held at Meadowview, while their clubmates Mary Leech and Nuala Reilly both secured places in the Ireland team for the Home Countries Cross-Country. Kelly went on to complete a notable double when wining the Louth Intermediate title at Bush, where both the men and ladies from Drogheda & District won their team competitions. Dunleer AC’s Erinn Leavy stormed clear to win the Girls Under-11 1500m, and other gold medallists included Boyne AC’s Neil Culhane, Eva Cummins and brothers Oisin and Ruarcan O’Gibne.
In karate Tenure girl Lily Sheeran claimed a coveted silver medal at the CIKA European Open Championships, held in Dublin’s National Basketball Arena, while veteran Drogheda schoolteacher Denise Rice won silver and bronze at the ITF Taekwon-Do World Cup.
Clogherhead’s Jack McCullough as he was placed sixth overall - and second in his age group - at the Global Swim Series European Sea Swimming Championships in Carlingford.