Drogs break record with crushing win in Wexford
THE narrow country road that leads to Ferrycarrig Park is littered with large potholes - but none as big as those in the Wexford defence last Friday night.
Drogheda United, bursting with confidence after putting six goals past Athlone, duly went to town for the second time in five days and remarkably came away with an even greater margin of victory to set a new record for the club’s biggest ever competitive win.
It was also Wexford’s heaviest defeat in their history - and so unexpected considering Damian Locke’s charges had kept a clean sheet in two of their opening fixtures in the League and EA Sports Cup.
While the critics will point to the poor quality of the opposition, the way Drogheda went about their business had to be admired.
With only about a dozen away fans in a poor attendance of around 200, there was zero atmosphere inside the ground and the ripples of ‘applause’ echoing around the pitch at kick-off time came from players’ encouraging hand-claps rather than the supporters who remained largely silent.
Unlike the Athlone game, the Boynesiders had this one sewn up by half-time - well, within 12 minutes in fact as Sean Brennan’s second goal gave the visitors a 3-0 advantage.
The Rathmullen native had broken the deadlock inside three minutes when Chris Kenny brought down Lee Duffy more than 30 yards out and Brennan curled the resulting free kick into the top corner, with Wexford keeper Danny Bolger rooted to the spot.
Goal number two soon followed when Colm Deasy regained possession with a welltimed tackle and immediately turned defence into attack with a pass up the touchline to Chris Lyons.
The centre-forward examined his options and went for a square pass along the 18-yard line to Lee Duffy who fired low and hard with his left foot. Keeper Bolger got a hand to the ball but couldn’t prevent it bouncing under his body and into the net.
On 11 minutes Mark Slater became the second Wexford player to go into referee Carey’s book, for pulling back Lyons in full flight.
Once more Brennan lined up the free kick, this one perhaps from slightly further out, and amazingly the former captain found the net again. This time he curled the ball low around the defensive wall and into the opposite corner for 3-0 as Bolger stood and watched on helplessly.
At the other end, Drogs keeper Paul Skinner carefully watched a long-range Thomas Croke effort fly wide, but Wexford almost conceded again on 15 minutes when Conor Kane swept a long, diagonal ball out to Duffy who took one touch before sending a dipping half-volley over the bar.
A yard lower and it would have been 4-0 as Bolger was well off his line.
Jake Hyland then glanced a poor header well wide after more excellent approach play from Brennan.
Wexford were offered a lifeline in the 16th minute when Skinner parried a Slater shot and the Wexford player was allegedly tripped from behind by Kane as he chased after the rebound, although there was a hint of the young left-back getting a touch on the ball before connecting with Slater.
Referee Carey was convinced and duly pointed to the spot, but Chris Kenny’s kick, while well-directed, hadn’t enough power and Skinner dived to his left to tip the ball round the post.
After more than 10 minutes without scoring, Drogheda then took their tally to five with a quick-fire double. The first stemmed from a clever pass infield by Duffy to the feet of Hyland. The skipper shipped the ball left to Mark Doyle who cut inside before rifling a low shot past Bolger.
Doyle was causing havoc with his direct running and from Drogheda’s next attack he was the victim of a rather crude challenge in the box that led to the game’s second penalty.
With Brennan already on a hat-trick, it was surprising to see Lyons step forward with the ball, but the striker easily beat Bolger from the spot to give Drogheda an improbable 5-0 lead.
Bolger eventually registered his first save of note, tipping a mis-hit Ciaran Kelly effort over the bar at full stretch, while a Hyland snap shot was blocked by a defender.
Coming up to half-time Dean Kelly did pull a goal back for Wexford, latching onto a poor headed clearance from Kane before shooting low past Skinner.
Deep into stoppage time there was much worse news for Drogheda as Brennan was stretchered off after coming off worst in a tackle, but in the remaining seconds the Boynesiders had another goal attempt as Luke Gallagher volleyed over
With half an hour remaining and his team staring a double-digit defeat in the face, the Wexford boss changed his goalkeeper to spare Bolger further humiliation
the bar.
Goal six wasn’t long in coming after the restart as Hyland took a pass from Lyons, turned and sent a 20-yard shot bouncing awkwardly past Bolger.
The keeper gratefully grabbed a Duffy effort at the second attempt, after great work by Brennan’s replacement Luke Rossiter to retrieve an over-hit pass at the byeline.
But Duffy wasn’t to be denied his second goal of the night. Just before the hour mark Mikey Byrne gave possession away to
Doyle and he rolled an exquisite diagonal ball right across the six-yard area for Duffy to finish from a tight angle at the far post - 7-1.
Then, just two minutes later, Lyons profited from more sloppy defending as he rounded Bolger before firing into the empty net.
With a full half-hour remaining and his team staring a likely double-digit defeat in the face, Wexford boss Locke changed his goalkeeper to spare Bolger any further humiliation.
In the remaining time the sub netminder Kealan Gaffney managed to keep a clean sheet, although this was probably as much down to Drogheda finally taking their collective foot off the pedal.
That’s not to say they didn’t continue to create chances. Duffy fired wide, substitutes Kealan Dillon and Rossiter each had two efforts deflected away for corners, and Doyle, Gallagher and Stephen Meaney were all denied by Gaffney.
Somehow the game ended on a rather sour note, though, as Duffy raised his studs in a challenge on Wexford striker Aaron Dobbs and was sent off on a straight red card.
After the final whistle there was also a tense exchange involving Drogheda players, supporters and the Wexford security staff - an apparent misunderstanding over the identity of ‘19th man’ Victor Ekanem - which was quickly defused, but nothing could take away from another devastating show of finishing by the away side.