Drogs end drought to close in on the Aviva
DROGHEDA United consigned one unwanted record to history as they breezed past the challenge of Cobh Wanderers on Friday night - and remarkably they are now just two victories away from an Aviva Stadium final.
It’s arguably at United Park where Pete Mahon’s problems have been most acute this season - two wins there from 13 in the league tells its own story - and so no one was taking anything for granted when the Boynesiders were drawn at home to nonleague opposition in the FAI Cup second round.
But just as they had done when wearing down Evergreen two weeks previously, Drogheda got their noses in front and eventually put some gloss on the scoreline as their greater class and fitness shone through.
That first goal, which came from an unlikely source in right-back Shane Elworthy, came as a huge relief to everyone of a Drogheda United persuasion as it brought to an end a wretched run of 749 minutes - almost 12 and a half hours - without scoring on their own patch.
Mahon selected the same starting XI that went down narrowly to Bray the previous week and the early stages were tentative to say the least.
With the North Road end of the ground closed off for the evening, the atmosphere was muted at the start and after 13 minutes of play there had been nothing to shout about whatsoever.
Conor Kane eventually brought some life to proceedings when he whipped in a right-foot cross which glanced off the head of Cobh defender John Meade and cannoned off the upright.
That seemed to shake off Drogheda’s early lethargy and Jack Bayly showed good strength to retain possession on the edge of the box before rolling the ball to Chris Mulhall whose powerful shot with minimal backlift was parried by Michael Devine, diving to his left.
The Munster Senior League outfit made a rare foray into Drogheda’s half on 20 minutes and Dave Curran unleashed a snap shot which was blocked by Richie Purdy, but the action immediately swung to the other end where Mulhall tumbled following a challenge right on the edge of the box.
The assistant referee flagged to signal the foul, but Robert Harvey - the man in charge - ignored his colleague and allowed play continue.
Left-back Kane repeatedly raised his arm, hungry for possession, and when Purdy’s searching pass released him in the 23rd minute the Under-19 international charged down the inside left channel before forcing Devine into another save at his near post.
Stephen Dunne headed over the bar from the resulting corner and John Meade then threw himself bravely at the ball to block as Adam Wixted let fly with a goalbound half-volley.
Finally Drogheda found a way through in the 29th minute when Bayly swung in a very deep cross and from almost on the endline Elworthy rose to plant a pinpoint header in the net.
From then until half-time it was completely one-way traffic and 44-year-old Devine - who was well into his League of Ireland career with Cork City by the time most of Drogheda’s players were born - was one of the busiest players on the pitch.
Dunne, Bayly and Wixted combined to set up Jake Hyland who hooked the ball wide, and then a Sean Russell 30-yarder zipped off the wet surface before being claimed by the keeper at the third attempt.
Mulhall had an effort deflected wide and an Elworthy effort was held by Devine after a classy backheel from Mulhall to set him up.
Cobh would happily have taken a 1-0 scoreline into the break, but with a minute of normal time remaining Drogheda took a big step towards the quarter-finals when Devine parried a Bayly shot, but only into the path of Elworthy who poked the ball in from a tight angle - his second goal of the night.
Shortly after the restart Devine was in action again, showing great reactions to palm away a Dunne header from point-blank range, but on 54 minutes he was picking the ball out of the net again.
This time Elworthy turned provider with a superb whipped cross from close to the corner flag and Mulhall produced a classy touch at the near post to divert the ball beyond the veteran keeper.
That should have been ‘game over’, but Drogheda clearly lost concentration at the restart and Elworthy himself was posted absent as Michael O’Shea released substitute David Stack who shot low past Stephen McGuinness.
Hyland and Bayly snatched at the next two chances that came Drogheda’s way, and on 69 minutes Cobh should have cut the deficit to one when Alan O’Flynn
The first goal brought to an end a wretched run of 749 minutes without scoring on their own patch.
galloped up the right wing - looking suspiciously offside - and crossed for Stack who this time sliced high and wide.
From a neutral’s point of view, the non-league side’s earlier goal had at least kept the tie alive and the remaining 20 minutes were entertaining enough as Cobh showed an appetite for attack, albeit without ever threatening to score again.
Their left-back Kyle Downing was lucky to avoid a second yellow card for a late tackle on Bayly, while Mulhall got one for protesting too vociferously when his shout for a penalty went unanswered.
Mahon had unleashed Tenure native Thomas Byrne by this stage and the 18-year-old certainly made his mark in the final minutes as Drogheda finally copper-fasted their place in the hat for the quarter-final draw yesterday (Monday) evening.
It was Byrne who cut the ball back from the byeline in the 90th minute for Mulhall to score with a dazzling chip over Devine, and deep into stoppage time the former Brighton & Hove Albion youth pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area to break his United duck and make it 5-1.
That was probably a fair reflection on the balance of play, and with nine goals scored in two cup ties Drogheda should take some confidence into their quarter-final tie - whoever the opposition are.