United miss out on win hat-trick

AFTER two opening wins, Drogheda United Under-19s slumped to a home defeat on Saturday against a purposeful Sligo team.

The game kicked off a quarter of an hour late to allow the pitch dry out after a persistent downpour, but in the opening few minutes both sides played some expansive football.

Sligo took the lead on five minutes when gaps opened up in the Drogs midfield and the visitors scored easily. United fought hard for the equaliser but lost possession at vital times and it was no surprise when the visitors made it 2-0 on 15 minutes. Sligo went on to add to their lead when a speculative swerving shot eluded Dylan Sweeney in United’s goal.

The Drogs tried had to make some impression on the scoreline and Mark Doyle shot just wide on 34 minutes from a good Lee Partridge cross before having a goal ruled out for offside.

With the hosts trailing 3-0 at half-time, manager Derek Boyle made radical changes at the back, with David Harper and Emmett Carolan replacing Craig Darcy and Sam Reilly.

The Drogs started the second half well and Stephen Meaney dispatched a penalty on 48 minutes, shortly before Sligo lost a defender to a second yellow card following a foul on Nathan Seery. However, the visitors held firm and they made it 4-1 on the hour mark.

The Drogs replied when James Carroll hit a reverse pass to Meaney who shot home, but it was too little too late.