Sheriff’s good start arrested by Town

DROGHEDA TOWN SHERIFF YC 2 1

DROGHEDA Town sent out a real statement of intent on Thursday night when they welcomed Sheriff YC to Marian Park and beat the Dublin side 2-0.

Sheriff, who boasted a 100% record before kick-off, would have been many people’s pre-season favourites for the league but that win for Town means they have put themselves into contention, which is made more remarkable by the fact they have only been together as a group for roughly five weeks.

While Town have had their difficulties in getting bodies together, Paul Crowley made no substitutions, owing to the fact those who started were performing excellently.

Having done a lot of work on a system to counter Sheriff, Crowley felt that making a change may disrupt the shape of the team and his faith was repaid when they held on for the win, despite being utterly spent come the final whistle.

The Dublin side were visibly frustrated by Town in the opening exchanges, unable to break down what was a resolute back four and that frustration led to mistakes.

With 20 minutes played, 17-year-old Glen Comerford gave the home side the lead. The youngster has been double jobbing between the senior side and the U-19s and looks comfortable at both levels.

Ten minutes later Town doubled their advantage when Adam O’Connor smashed a shot home.

The losing finalists in this year’s FAI Junior Cup, Sheriff showed what they were made of in the second half and really piled the pressure on Ronan Brown’s goal.

Brown made a series of saves, but Town continued to keep their shape and show some real composure against the onslaught.

Eventually, a shot from distance with 20 minutes left beat Brown to set up a grandstand finish.

Town had the chance to restore their two-goal lead when they won a penalty with just over ten minutes left. Ian Devine saw his effort from the spot saved, which undoubtedly would have made the remaining minutes feel twice as long. Town, however, showed some real discipline to close out the game from there and move third in the table, albeit with just four games played.

Commenting on the win, Town manager Crowley said that this shows the level at which the club should be operating at and it’s a marker for all in his squad. DROGHEDA TOWN: Ronan Browne, Daryl McDonagh, Stephen Doran, Aidan Murphy, Adam O’Connor, Alan Murtagh, Stephen Keely, Glen Comerford, Craig O’Connor, Emannuel Santos, Ian Devine.

•Drogheda Town FC extend their sincere sympathies to the Hickey and Gavan families on their recent sad bereavement.