No joy for luckless Drogheda
ON the surface it appears as though Drogheda are very much swimming against a tide of inevitability.
Friday’s defeat against Finn Harps means they have gone one complete round of fixtures without a win. And in that round they managed just four goals in three games.
Pete Mahon’s side now find themselves bottom of the table, four points from safety with a game more played than those around them. The absence of luck has been a common theme for the Boynsiders since their unenviable run.
That continued again on Friday night when on six minutes Thomas Byrne hit a sweetly struck shot which crashed back off the upright with Ciaran Gallagher well beaten. At 1-0 down if that hit’s the back of the net, this team bereft of confidence no doubt would have morphed into a different beast.
Another slice of bad fortune hit 17 minutes later when Kevin Farragher was forced off through injury to be replaced by Ciaran McGuigan, defensive changes early on are never easy to make.
Farragher was one of five changes made by Mahon. The manager said he would ring the changes after the 2-0 defeat to Limerick the previous week. Thomas Byrne, Lloyd Buckley, Jake Hyland and Sean Thornton along with Farragher all returned to the starting XI.
With the Ipswich friendly on Saturday, Mick McCarthy was an interested spectator in the stands as he and his backroom team enjoyed the Friday night sun at United Park.
With only three minutes played on Friday night Sean Brennan and Eddie Dsane became tangled and referee Graham Kelly awarded the visitors a free on the edge of the box.
Dsane placed the ball down and deftly curled it over the wall past a rooted Stephen McGuinness for Harps’ opener.
In what was a massive six pointer the early concession felt like a hammer blow. But Byrne’s solo run and effort a minute later signalled some hope for the hosts going forward. While the next chance to come in the game was for the visitors, Drogheda were playing positively and moving the ball forward. Conor Kane was showing some real tenacity, he elicited a huge cheer for up ending Paddy McCourt’s run with a well-timed tackle.
Caolan McAleer curled a low shot at McGuinness on 21 minutes in what was a very routine save for the keeper. Ciaran McGuigan is a player who appears to be low on confidence at the moment.
Having been dropped following the Limerick game he had a chance to redeem himself on Friday but he almost cost Drogheda a second goal on the half-hour mark.
Some hesitancy on his part saw him caught in possession just outside the box by McAleer and the Harps player burst through on goal only to be denied by Stephen McGuinness.
Killian Cantwell was lucky not to be carded after a heavy tackle on Byrne at the other end soon after. This did give Drogheda a great opportunity though and they attempted a training ground free-kick. Thornton and Byrne had a quick conversation before the latter placed the ball down and Thornton made a run outside the box which allowed Byrne feed him the ball but unfortunately his low cross was blocked.
With five minutes remaining in the half McGuigan gifted a ball to Dsane about 35 yards out and the midfielder raced towards goal but blazed a shot over from distance, much to the annoyance of the very vocal Ollie Horgan.
Drogheda had one final chance before the break. Hyland was put through and he tried to flick the ball past Ethan Boyle only for the defender to blatantly handle and block the run. Again referee Kelly awarded the free without showing a card. Considering this was right on the edge of the box it was potentially denying a goal scoring opportunity.
This time Thornton would be the one to take the free but he put his effort high and over the bar.
Harps made a blistering start to the second half and could have doubled their lead straight away.
Sean Houston picked out McAleer on the right wing and with the Drogheda defence stretched he whipped in a cross toward Danny Morrissey, unmarked at the back post. Luke Gallagher was more than alert though and he got back to head the ball clear.
Harps were content to sit back and counter at this stage.
It seemed as though if Drogheda were going to score it would come from a set piece. Kane was
fouled deep in the Limerick half and Byrne whipped a ball into the box which was scrambled behind for a corner. He had another free from a similar position soon after and Buckley went close with a headed effort.
After needlessly picking up a yellow card for dissent, Byrne had the Drogheda fans on their feet as he played a neat one-two with Sean Brennan before firing a long range effort just wide.
Harps began to show their game management experience as several players appeared to pick up cramps and other minor knocks which required attention thus killing any momentum Drogheda were gaining.
Even Gallagher theatrically dived to prevent a goal kick and then signalled for attention which the referee allowed come on.
As Drogheda committed more and more to attack they left themselves exposed and on 75 minutes Sean Houston slipped through Morrissey who just beat the offside trap. His first touch was loose but he lunged in on the ball in the box and managed to just squeeze it under the onrushing McGuinness to seal the win for Harps.
A final laugh was had by the home fans when the fourth official signalled five additional minutes at the end of the game and Harps manager Horgan let a roar questioning where the time had come from.
There are no such laughing matters about the next run of games as Drogheda travel to Sligo on Saturday where three points are a must. Following that they travel to Galway United and a lot will be known after these two fixtures.