Drogs, Dundalk make point in thrilling derby

EA SPORTS U15 LOI GROUP A DROGHEDA UNITED 2 DUNDALK 2

LOUTH’S fierce rivals Drogheda United and Dundalk couldn’t be separated as this EA Sports U15 League of Ireland Group A clash ended level pegging at DIFE last Saturday.

The Drogs were out of luck in the early stages when both Jack Richmond and Matthew McCloskey struck the upright and the home side spent the majority of the first half-hour on top, creating good chances in front of goal.

Their patience eventually paid off when midfielder Erik Tobli found Harry McGuirk in a wide area and his cross caused some trouble for the Dundalk defence, allowing the alert Jamie O’Brien to nip in and score to break the deadlock.

Drogheda stayed on top after that and pushed for a second goal, but it was Dundalk who got back on level terms on the 30-minute mark when they converted a penalty kick and the teams went in still deadlocked at half-time.

The second period commenced with Cillian Duff and Josh Harpur making an impact off the Drogheda bench, creating chances for their teammates, while they remained solid at the back thanks in part to the efforts of Calvin Winters.

Drogheda restored their lead when player of the match Tobli volleyed the ball goalwards and Cillian Duff finished into the bottom corner of the Dundalk net.

In fairness to Dundalk they tried to hit back immediately and Drogheda fould themselves under pressure.

Dylan Kelly and Cormac Dolan handled the added workload exceptionally well down the left-hand side, though, and Drogheda continued to be positive, with winger James O’Neil creating chances from the wide right position.

However, Dundalk did eventually equalise with 10 minutes remaining when the ball looped straight into the net from a corner kick in the swirling wind.

Drogheda stepped up their search for another goal in those final few minutes, with Seb Hudziak pumping forward passes into the strikers, and they were unlucky not to snatch victory in the final seconds when Harpur broke free and his strike rose just over the crossbar.

DROGHEDA UNITED: Dylan Sheridan, Seb Hudziak, Dylan Kelly, Calvin Winters, Excel Imade, Erik Tobli, Ewan Fox, Ewan McCole, Robbie Dennehy, James O’Neil, Harry McGuirk, Cormac Dolan, Cillian Duff, Jamie O’Brien, Matthew McCloskey, Josh Harpur, Jack Richmond.