Limerick let off hook by misfiring Drogs
just inside the box.
It was all Drogheda at this early stage and 18-year-old Tenure native Thomas Byrne was next to threaten when he made a darting run to latch onto Stephen Dunne’s pass in behind the Limerick defence. The fleet-footed Under-19 international got a touch to deflect the ball past Hall but could only watch as it trickled narrowly wide.
On 24 minutes former Drog Lee Lynch was off target with a low shot that McGuinness had covered anyway, but seconds later Drogheda missed another great chance when a cross picked out the unmarked Griffin who headed over the bar.
Just past the half-hour mark Griffin turned provider for Byrne whose left-foot effort was gathered by the advancing Hall, and it was deja vu on 37 minutes as Byrne showed lightning pace to take the ball off Paul O’Conor’s toes but then shot straight at Hall once more. By that stage, Drogs skipper Killian Brennan, who had been excellent in the midfield anchor role, had limped off with an injury.
In the final seconds of the first half Brazilian striker Rodrigo Tosi volleyed narrowly over the Drogheda crossbar with Limerick’s only chance of note to date.
The hosts made a further six changes at the break and the disruption definitely affected them in the second half as the Shannonsiders bossed in the possession stakes.
Ogbeni had enjoyed a great tussle with Colm Deasy in the first half, but Deasy was one of those replaced at the interval and five minutes after the restart Ogbeni sprinted away from his marker and fired low past McGuinness to break the deadlock.
Drogheda should have levelled immediately when Adam Wixted curled in a great cross towards Stephen Elliott who completely mis-judged his header, but when those two players swapped roles on 55 minutes they came up with a winning formula as Elliott’s deep cross was volleyed home by Wixted through a crowd of players.
Richie Purdy and Gavin Brennan then combined to put Elliott through, but the former international was denied by Hall.
In the latter stages Limerick pressed for a winner, but the home defence held firm and it wasn’t until the 79th minute that McGuinness was tested as he made a good block to deny Stephen Kenny.
Overall, it was a good runout for both teams, and it’s worth remembering that Sean Brennan was absent for this game along with promising young left-back Conor Kane who was unavailable due to international commitments. Neither of the two American trialists featured either as the process of obtaining international clearance begins.
Competition for places is certainly intense and the biggest headache for Mahon and his management team in the short term will be deciding on his best starting XI to face Galway United on Friday week.