‘We’re heading in right direction’

CORDUFF DROGHEDA TOWN 3 1

ROBBIE Horgan’s Drogheda Town team completed their season with a fourth successive defeat away to Corduff, but the manager wasn’t too downhearted about the campaign as a whole.

With other teams still having a number of games to play, the Marian Park club will probably finish seventh eighth in the table, similar to 12 months ago, but the former Drogheda United boss feels there have been some positive signs during the last year.

‘With four games to go we were up there challenging, whereas last year we still needed a few points from our last four games to avoid relegation, which we did.

‘So it’s an improvement to be there, even though I know we didn’t win any of our last four.

‘At 5pm on Friday evening I had a panel of 18 players, and by 6 o’clock I had 12 and one of them was my assistant manager. Another one had a bit of a knee injury and probably shouldn’t have played, but I had no choice.

‘And with it being the last game of the season there was not much in it for us, whereas Corduff still needed to get out of a bit of relegatin trouble, so I could not have asked for any more from the players who played.’

Drogheda actually scored first when the ball was swung in from the left-hand side towards Callum Cooney who finished well into the bottom corner of the Corduff net for a 1-0 half-time lead.

The home side had demonstrated their threat from set pieces in both previous matches against Drogheda - one in the league and one cup tie - and after Horgan had reminded his team at the interval not to concede needless free kicks they duly did so in the 55 minute.

Corduff’s taker duly struck a superb kick over the wall and into the Town net for the equaliser.

The game opened up then, with chances at both ends, but in the latter stages Town struggled, with another injury leaving them effectively down to nine fit players.

Corduff, whose 5-2 win in the reverse fixture effectively ended Town’s promotion challenge, took full advantage as they struck twice in injury time to leave them firmly on course to maintain their Major Division status for another season. SOCCER

NORTH EAST FOOTBALL LEAGUE