Decider in Donegal looms after stalemate
NATHAN Boyle’s equaliser for Finn Harps at United Park has left Drogheda with plenty to do to keep their promotion hopes alive going into Friday’s second leg of the First Division play-off final in Ballybofey.
With the bookies making Harps slight favourites to win last week, the Boynesiders would have been delighted to take a 1-0 lead to Finn Park, but substitute Boyle took advantage of some sloppy defending to haul his team level and give them a slight edge in the battle to set up a promotion/ relegation play-off decider with Limerick.
The Drogs had Tim Clancy back in the dugout after completing his four-match ban and he had Kealan Dillon and William Hondermarck in his starting line-up as Jake Hyland (broken leg) and Richie Purdy (illness) were sidelined.
Both teams had prepared for this first leg in very different ways, with Drogheda playing 120 minutes and penalties just four nights earlier before coming through the first play-off tie against Shelbourne, while Harps hadn’t played a competitive game in three weeks.
After a cagey opening eight minutes the Boynesiders could have hit the front when Sean Brennan rolled a free kick to Colm Deasy whose cross just evaded Mark Doyle at the back post.
Harps’ sharpness seemed to be lacking after three weeks without a competitive game and Drogheda made them pay in the 12th minute.
A lot of credit goes to 17-yearold William Hondermarck who left Jacob Borg for dead with a razor-sharp turn in midfield before driving forward to win a corner.
Brennan whipped in the set piece and after a near-post flick and a ricochet off the boot of Chris Lyons, the ball dropped fortuitously towards Ciaran Kelly who rifled a low shot to the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Almost straight from the restart Drogheda attacked again and Brennan cut in from the right flank to test Ciaran Gallagher with a curling shot, and the keeper then had to deal with an angled effort from Doyle.
Harps, though, were beginning to settle into the game and Mikey Place had a shot blocked for a corner, before the men from Ballybofey had the ball in the net on 26 minutes. Gareth Harkin’s initial shot was well parried by Paul Skinner and as a scramble ensued an offside flag went up well in advance of Place slotting home from close range.
Back came Drogheda and a superb interception by Kealan Dillon led to a counter-attack which ended with Doyle setting up Lyons for a long-range shot that flew wide.
Skinner was called into action again, though, on the half-hour as Ciaran Coll made ground on the left flank before sweeping the ball to Place on the opposite side. The striker worked an excellent shooting chance for himself before hitting a low, hard drive which produced a fine save from the keeper.
Mark Timlin sliced a long-range volley wide and John Kavanagh had an effort blocked by Kelly as Harps enjoyed a good spell, but then Dillon dinked a superb ball in behind for Doyle and his angled shot was deflected wide for a corner.
Another chance came for Drogheda on 40 minutes as Skinner’s long clearance was misjudged by Harkin, letting Lyons in behind him. The striker tempted Gallagher off his line, but Lyons couldn’t find a way around him and the ball eventually landed at the feet of Brennan whose half-volley was stopped by the keeper.
Drogheda started the second half on the front foot and Hondermarck fired wide after engineering the chance with another excellent turn. then Deasy and Lyons were involved in a move that ended with Brennan firing into the ground and through to Gallagher, with the ball just not sitting up kindly for the captain.
There was a warning for the Drogs on 58 minutes when Timlin swung in a free kick with unerring accuracy onto the head of the unmarked Niall Logue who nodded well wide of the target, and Coll then sent a 30-yard drive fizzing over the crossbar.
Harps were nearly undone by another quickly taken free kick as Brennan and Doyle linked up to find Lyons whose cut-back was blazed just over the bar by Dillon.
Then on 65 minutes Brennan tested Gallagher with a rather optimistic 40-yard free kick.
Entering the last quarter, however, Harps snatched an equaliser just at the point where they seem to have run out of ideas.
It was a horrible goal to concede from a Drogheda point of view as neither Kevin Farragher or Kelly managed to deal with a long clearance from Gallagher.
Nathan Boyle, who had only just come on as a sub for Harps, made a nuisance of himself and got in between the two dithering defenders to gain possession before driving the ball low past the advancing Skinner.
Paddy McCourt’s introduction straight after, at the expense of Timlin, seemed to suggest that Harps might push on and go in search of a win, but in fact the former Celtic man made little impact and the visitors went into survival mode in the latter stages as Drogheda - somewhat weary after their Monday night exploits - chased a lead goal to take into the second leg.
The Boynesiders did create one chance of note on 80 minutes when Doyle showed some of the qualities he showed earlier in the season, taking a pass from Kelly and taking on his marker on the left flank.
The Skerries native made it to the byeline and cut the ball back into the six-yard area where Lyons threw himself at the ball but couldn’t make himself big enough to get a touch past Gallagher.
It was that sort of night for the Drogs. For long spells they looked the better team but just didn’t have enough of a cutting edge in the Harps penalty area.
Their biggest regret, though, will be the very soft goal they conceded at a time when they were on top, and hopefully that won’t prove fatal to their promotion hopes come this Friday night in Ballybofey.