Drogs kick off with a victory in Galway
Galway United 0 Drogheda Utd 1
IT was a bit of a smash-and-grab raid out west on Friday evening but all the more satisfying for that as Drogheda United made a winning return to the top flight.
Their performance fell short of that demanded by manager Pete Mahon, and it will hardly be good enough against the better teams, but it’s a results business when you’re a club that’s expected to be battling against relegation. And on that score events at Eamonn Deacy Park couldn’t have gone any better.
Drogheda lined out pretty much as expected, with Ciaran McGuigan partnering Luke Gallagher at the heart of defence, Killian Brennan anchoring the midfield, Adam Wixted and Gavin Brennan preferred to Gareth McCaffrey out wide and Stephen Elliott starting in the absence of injured striker Marc Griffin.
But the Boynesiders took a long time to settle into this match - perhaps they were still acclimatising to their fluorescent green change jerseys! - and they certainly rode their luck in the first 45 minutes.
Indeed, Galway wouldn’t have been flattered by a two or even three-goal lead by the time Mahon got his players back to the relative safety of the dressing-room at half-time.
Galway certainly came out all guns blazing and their vastly experienced striker Vinny Faherty should have put them ahead inside five minutes after a poorly defended corner kick, only to see his effort tipped onto the crossbar by keeper Stephen McGuinness when it looked easier to score. The rebound fell to Lee Grace whose shot was blocked in the crowded penalty area.
Drogheda were still trying to sort themselves out defensively when their back four was unlocked again, Marc Ludden threading a pass through to Faherty who could only shoot tamely into the arms of a relieved McGuinness.
The Drogs keeper was in action again moments later when he saved from a header by Gary Shanahan who had been teed up by Ronan Murray.
It was certainly a busy second debut for McGuigan, who previously played for the Drogs under Robbie Horgan in 2014 - and the centre-half twice denied Murray with no-nonsense defending and was a strong contender for the visitors’ man of the match.
At the other end, Drogheda didn’t fashion a significant chance until coming up to half-time when a Wixted cross found its way to Elliott, only for Stephen Folan to block the former international’s shot.
By comparison, the second half lacked goalmouth incident as Drogheda seemed to have a better shape about them and the Tribesmen began to rely on longrange shooting. As a result, play got bogged down in midfield for long spells and the game lacked much spark or creativity for the good-sized crowd.
Wixted swapped passes with Elliott and saw his 25-yard effort deflect behind for a corner kick, but still there was little sign of a Drogheda breakthrough.
Not content to hang on for a point, Mahon - who had replaced the injured Killian Brennan with Sean Thornton at the interval - made two further changes before the 70th minute, bringing on Gareth McCaffrey and Thomas Byrne for Elliott and Wixted.
The fresh legs seemed to work as McCaffrey burst through on goal, only to be stopped in his tracks by a great challenge from Grace. And moments later McCaffrey had another site of the target when he beat the offside trap and went on a mazy run, but this time his shot was held by Galway keeper Ciaran Nugent.
Drogheda sensed that there was more than just a point in this game for them, and it was a case of third time lucky for McCaffrey as he finally broke the deadlock in the 80th minute.
Fellow substitute Byrne made the opportunity as the Tenure native supplied a superb pass for the former Shamrock Rovers man who rounded Nugent and slotted home from an acute angle for his seventh goal in 13 Drogheda starts.
There was a late scare for Drogheda when they conceded a free kick just outside their own penalty area. Former United Park favourite Gavan Holohan, a close-season signing from Cork City, stood over the ball and directed it towards Murray.
The striker, who played under Roy Keane at Ipswich Town won a League 2 medal with Paolo Di Canio’s Swindon during a nine-year spell in England prior to joining Galway in the close season - would have fancied himself to score but instead blasted over the crossbar to Drogheda’s great relief.
So there was huge relief at the final whistle for Mahon and his team who incidentally picked up just one point from two visits to Eamonn Deacy Park in their last Premier Division campaign.
However, it was a case of more frustration for Galway’s new manager Shane Keegan who was in charge of the Wexford Youths team beaten by the Boynesiders in last November’s promotion/ relegation play-off decider.