Drogheda pitch in to match leaders
DROGHEDA BOYS NEWBRIDGE TOWN 1 1
STERLING work by the ground staff to get the Rathmullen pitch playable paid dividends as Drogheda Boys matched leaders Newbridge in this Dublin Schoolboy League Under-15 Major clash played last Saturday.
Despite the bright conditions, it was touch and go whether the game would proceed after heavy rain over the previous couple of days, but it went ahead and after only two minutes Sean Collier played a ball out from the back up to Aaron Lawler whose long-range shot flew narrowly over the bar.
However, for the next 25 minutes Newbridge dominated possession and their midfield were putting the Drogheda defence under a lot of pressure.
Sam Victory in front of the Drogheda defence was working hard in breaking up the throughball and when it did get through Peter Meegan and Collier were quick to clear the danger.
However, in the 12th minute Newbridge pressed the midfield and pounced on a moment of indecision to find a way past Jonathan Clear from six yards out.
After that the visitors continued to press, but the solid defending from Ewan Sweeney and Javier Chapela snuffed out the threat from the attacking wingers.
Slowly but surely Drogheda started to get into the game, with Taju Adigun and Dawid Churobocinski winning the ball higher up the pitch and Newbridge coming under pressure.
That dominance paid dividends on the half-hour mark when a slick move between Alan Beattie and Sam Victory helped put Lawler through and he calmly put the ball over the advancing Newbridge keeper - 1-1.
The second half once again saw Drogheda start brightly and they came close to making an opening, only for the Newbridge defence to clear the ball away.
Drogheda were competing for every ball and not letting Newbridge settle, and when the away side did get through keeper Clear was in superb form and his attitude of ‘thou shalt not pass’ infused the rest of his team.
Beattie was using every opportunity to move the ball forward for the hosts and on the hour a move involving Adigun and Victory saw the ball whipped across the Newbridge penalty area, only for it to be struck narrowly wide by an onrushing forward.
Space was opening up for both sides and on 67 minutes Meegan won the ball in defence, laid it off to Beattie just inside the centre circle and kept running to receive a return pass just outside the Newbridge penalty area. Only a wonderful saving tackle from the Newbridge centre-half prevented Meegan from taking a shot. DROGHEDA BOYS: