Drop looms larger after latest loss
Bray Wdrs 2 Drogheda Utd 1
SHANE Elworthy shouldn’t have too many nightmares about his stoppage-time miss on Friday night - for draws are of no use to Drogheda if they are to stage the ‘great escape’.
Wins at the weekend for St Pat’s, Limerick and especially Sligo - who won in Turner’s Cross of all places - and defeat for the Boynesiders at the Carlisle Grounds left Pete Mahon’s men some 10 points from safety and staring relegation in the face.
The mathematics say Drogheda can still avoid the drop, but they’d have to win five of their seven remaining matches to stand any chance - having won four out of 26 to date.
A win against Bray would at least have made things interesting. A gap of seven points to fourth-bottom Sligo with a game in hand and a home tie against the Bit O’Red to come on the final day of the season would suddenly have changed the complexion of the table.
However, given Drogheda’s difficulties in finding the net this season, realistically they had to score first on Friday and after Hugh Douglas headed the Seagulls in front the writing was on the wall.
There was an anxious moment after only two minutes when Aaron Greene swept a long, diagonal ball out to the left where Gary McCabe took possession from Karl Moore, stepped inside and hit a shot which was deflected wide by Elworthy.
However, the visitors should have gone ahead in the eighth minute. Chris Mulhall seized on a wayward pass out from keeper Peter Cherrie and shot goal-wards, only for Conor Kenna to block on the line. The rebound broke back to Mulhall and he had a second bite at the cherry, only to be foiled again by Kenna, with Cherrie still out of position.
Considering the game featured the teams with the poorest recent records, it was a lively start and next to go for goal was Sean Russell whose 35-yard free kick took a deflection off the Bray wall and trickled through to Cherrie.
Greene almost flicked Moore’s driven low cross past Stephen McGuinness, but the better chances were falling to Drogheda and Richie Purdy slipped the ball into the path of Mulhall who fired narrowly wide of Cherrie’s upright.
Another chance went begging on 23 minutes when Jake Hyland and Mulhall combined to put Jack Bayly through and with options on both shoulders he probably chose the wrong one as he went left to Hyland who was dispossessed as he shaped to shoot.
Shortly after Bayly took a pass from Adam Wixted and released the on-rushing Conor Kane who sent a powerful angled shot rising over the bar from the edge of the box.
Elworthy then shrugged off a couple of challenges as he broke forward from right-back, played a one-two with Bayly and then released Wixted before taking the return ball. Turning his man in the box the teenager had a clear sight of goal but on his weaker left foot lifted his shot over the bar.
There was one further chance for Drogheda before the halfhour as Purdy went through on goal, only to fire tamely straight at Cherrie.
At that point Bray started to look more threatening and McCabe caught out McGuinness with a superbly struck 25-yard free kick from an angle that cracked off the crossbar.
The breakthrough came barely a minute later after Hugh Douglas forced Kane to concede a corner kick. Kevin Lynch’s delivery was aimed at Douglas and he climbed high above Dave Mulcahy to plant a powerful header beyond McGuinness.
Greene sent a 30-yard shot fizzing just wide and Ryan Brennan’s deflected effort was held by McGuinness as Bray attempted to turn the screw, but just before half-time Drogheda were unlucky not to restore parity.
Wixted went off on a great run, évading a couple of tackles, before releasing Mulhall who was clattered by Kenna right on the edge of the box. Once again Russell stepped up and this time his curled the free off the underside of the bar and Mulhall just failed to scramble
the rebound past Cherrie.
With three of Drogheda’s relegation rivals all winning at the half-time break, Drogheda had to go for broke in the second half, but their task became doubly difficult when the Seagulls struck for a second time in the 50th minute.
John Sullivan’s perfectly weighted pass out of defence picked out McCabe and he was unceremoniously floored by McCabe just outside the box. Greene stood over the free and took it right on referee Connolly’s whistle, catching out McGuinness who seemed to be unsighted as he easily found the net.
McGuinness made a fine save from McCabe after a great counter-attack from the home side, but Drogheda weren’t lying down and Bayly had a shot deflected behind before they halved the deficit in the 67th minute.
A rather crude challenge by Greene on substitute Thomas Byrne resulted in a free and Russell’s kick deflected off the wall and out to Bayly who reached the byeline and crossed for Mulhall to convert from close range.
As Mulhall tried to retrieve the ball from the net he was involved in a clash with keeper Cherrie and both men were booked - but not before a melee inside the net involving up to a dozen players.
Another long-range Greene effort had McGuinness scrambling, but another of Drogheda’s subs, Ryan Masterson was unlucky to see an overhead effort land in the side netting after Bray had failed to deal with a Byrne free kick.
Then, in the fifth and final minute of stoppage time, the Boynesiders forced a corner and Byrne’s kick to the near post was met by Elworthy whose powerful header from pointblank range rose over the bar.
Seconds later Mr Connolly’s final whistle sounded and Drogs centre-half Stephen Dunne, who was in possession at the time, punched the ball away in frustration.
This was another of those games where Drogheda performed well but couldn’t turn their opportunities into enough goals. So it’s back to the training ground this week for more shooting practice. And you can bet your bottom dollar that set pieces will feature strongly as well.