Heavy loss is a reality check for Drogheda
DROGHEDA United were rank outsiders against Cork City before a ball was kicked on Friday night - and so an early red card was a nightmare scenario for Pete Mahon’s team.
Whatever chance the Boynesiders had of putting it up to fitter, stronger and more experienced opponents was all but extinguished when Richie Purdy clattered into Steven Beattie in the 20th minute and got his marching orders from referee Derek Tomney.
Whether Purdy deserved to go is questionable - the general consensus was that the tackle was late but hardly malicious. Nor does the ex Shamrock Rovers man have a bad record - he was previously booked once in 16 appearances for Drogheda going back to last season.
But on reflection the 19-year-old might feel he didn’t need to launch into a challenge of that magnitude when the Drogheda defence was under no real pressure.
Whether Drogheda would have earned something from the game with 11 men on the field is debatable, though, for despite drawing level shortly beforehand the Boynesiders were very much second best on the balance of play up to that point.
As the full-time team and likely title contenders, Cork were a well-drilled team and from the first whistle their strength and speed of thought had Drogheda on the back foot.
Inside two minutes centre-half Ciaran McGuigan went into Mr Tomney’s book, and Greg Bolger rolled the resulting free kick towards Sean Maguire who completely mis-hit his shot from the 18-yard line.
It proved to be only a temporary reprieve for the home side, though, as they were undone by another set piece in the eighth minute. A defender managed to clear a corner kick away from the six-yard area, but a Cork player instantly nodded the ball back in and Maguire - one of the smallest men on the field - showed good spring to rise above his marker and direct a header to the corner of the Drogheda net.
The Leesiders pushed again and Karl Sheppard ghosted past Luke Gallagher before seeing his shot saved by the feet of keeper Stephen McGuinness, before Beattie hooked a shot over the bar.
After 15 minutes of almost constant defence, Drogheda escaped into opposition territory and nearly scored on their first visit to the Cork penalty area as Jake Hyland threaded a brilliant pass into the path of Stephen Elliott whose poor touch in the six-yard are allowed Mark McNulty scramble the ball around the post at the second attempt.
From the resulting corner, though, Drogheda were level. Thomas Byrne’s kick swung well away from the goalmouth, but two Cork defenders failed to clear their lines and the ball reached McGuigan on the 18-yard line. He drilled it low towards the six-yard area for Elliott whose deft backflick wrong-footed McNulty - 1-1 and game on.
Home supporters were still cheering the goal and looking forward to a great game when Drogheda’s hopes suffered a massive setback, with Purdy’s late tackle on Elliott deemed by referee Tomney to be worthy of a red card.
The dust had barely settled on that incident when Byrne had a rush of blood to the head and ill-advisedly made a similar challenge on Sheppard. The home supporters clearly feared the worst as a collective groan could be heard from around the ground, but thankfully Mr Tomney decided a yellow card was sufficient on this occasion.
Drogheda settled down after that and McGuigan headed over from a Sean Thornton corner, before the action swung back to the other end and a powerful Maguire shot flew just wide of the upright.
The home side would have been delighted to reach the interval still on level terms, but instead they conceded from another setpiece on 41 minutes as Beattie swung the ball in towards the near post and Gearoid Morrissey stole a yard on marker Hyland to volley past McGuinness.