Glimmer of hope after Drogs make their point
THERE was a collective sigh of relief at full-time on Saturday night as bottom-of-the-table Drogheda United stopped the rot to give themselves a glimmer of hope in their relegation battle.
Yes, Pete Mahon’s side rode their luck at times, but overall they probably deserved the point and could conceivably have gone away with all three as substitute Jamie Hollywood nearly put his glitzy name in lights with a stoppage-time effort.
A fifth successive defeat would have heaped further pressure on Mahon, but if there was any suggestion that the wily veteran had ‘lost the dressing-room’ then that was answered at The Showgrounds as United’s players grafted for the full 95 minutes to eke out a result.
No one will be getting carried away by a draw against Sligo, who continue to punch below their weight considering their full-time status, but the Bit O’Red are generally pretty strong on their own patch and defeated Shamrock Rovers in their previous home outing.
For Drogheda it’s something to build on ahead of their upcoming games against fellow strugglers Galway United and St Pat’s, but it would help if they could get some of their injured players back as five were absent for Saturday’s clash.
A couple of others were touch and go in terms of their fitness and it was just as well that new signing Sean Russell’s international clearance came through in time as the former Limerick and UCD midfielder took his place in the starting line-up.
The 23-year-old son of Martin Russell, who lost his job as Limerick manager earlier this season, was immediately into the action as he took charge of a couple of set plays, with no success.
However, the first scoring chance fell to Sligo as Daniel Kearns - who played in the English Championship for Peterborough five years ago after a spell with Dundalk - set up debutant Benny Igiehon whose powerful shot was brilliantly parried by Stephen McGuinness.
Thomas Byrne replied with a wayward volley for Drogheda, but Sligo had the initiative and Igiehon tested McGuinness from the centre circle before heading over the bar from a corner, while Tobi Adebayo-Rowling fired into the side netting.
Drogs skipper Luke Gallagher flicked a Byrne corner wide at the near post, but the visitors had a big let-off when Igiehon’s clever flick released Kearns who turned inside Colm Deasy onto his right foot before cracking a shot off the crossbar.
That prompted a response from Drogheda as they ended the first half in the ascendancy, admittedly without ever troubling former United Park favourite Micheal Schlingermann.
Byrne whipped in a dangerous free kick that bounced right across the six-yard box, with no takers, and a minute later Russell tried his luck from 30 yards but without much conviction as the ball drifted wide.
There was a collective groan from the home supporters on 42 minutes when Rhys McCabe bundled over Jake Hyland 30 yards from goal, resulting in a free kick in a dangerous position, but Byrne failed to test Schlingermann as his shot rose well over the bar.
After half-time Drogheda started brightly, with an enterprising run from Conor Kane ending with an ill-timed Seamus Sharkey tackle that ended in the game’s solitary booking.
Byrne then took off from the centre circle before releasing Adam Wixted whose shot was blocked by a defender, but the Sligo defence couldn’t clear their lines and when the ball dropped invitingly for Russell some 25 yards out, he hit it first-time on the volley and the sweetest of strikes found the net via the upright, with Schlingermann well beaten.
It was only the second goal Drogheda had scored in nine and a half games, and the home fans were stunned.
For the next 10 minutes the Boynesiders looked comfortable, with McGuinness required on only one occasion to deal with a weak Igiehon header.
However, just after the hour mark Sligo hauled themselves back level, with their local hero Raffaele Cretaro the creator as his slide-rule pass released McCabe on the right flank.
The former Glasgow Rangers man, making his home debut for the Bit O’Red, tempted Kane into an all-or-nothing sliding challenge and coolly stepped inside the defender before stroking a tidy finish past McGuinness.
If Drogheda feared the worst, they didn’t show it and Ryan McEvoy perhaps should have done better with a shot that rolled into the grateful arms of Schlingermann, following a promising move involving Wixted, Stephen Elliott and Byrne.
Sligo weren’t going to settle for a draw, though, and the corner count increased steadily as they tried to unlock the Premier Division’s leakiest defence.
Cretaro turned sharply on the edge of the box and sent a powerful shot whistling narrowly wide, and it was hearts-in-mouths time again on 80 minutes as Kearns fired home from close range, but the assistant referee had already flagged to indicate the ball had crossed the endline moments
earlier.
Gallagher fired over for Drogheda after lending support to the attack, but the visitors were saved by their keeper again on 85 minutes as McGuinness produced a miraculous stop, diving full-length to his right to tip an Igiehon effort round the post.
A poor long-range effort and a booking in quick succession summed up Elliott’s night as little went right for the hard-working former international striker, but three minutes into stoppage time Drogheda should have snatched victory.
Shane Elworthy was the instigator with a clever flick into the path of fellow substitute Hollywood who cut in menacingly from the left into the heart of the penalty area before his goal-bound shot was kept out by a last-gasp Michael Leahy lunge.
Cretaro had a header clutched on the line by McGuinness at the other end, and in the final seconds Byrne sold Adebayo-Rowling an outrageous dummy but then sent the resulting cross out over the endline.
Frustration was etched on the Tenure teenager’s face and on Hollywood’s at the final whistle, but overall Drogheda would have to be fairly happy with a point on their travels.
Further improvement will be needed, though, in the coming weeks if they are to gain the three or four victories they probably need to stave off the threat of relegation.
It’s something to build on ahead of their upcoming games against fellow strugglers Galway and St Pat’s, but it would help if they could get some of their injured players back.