Curtin pulls one out of the bag to save Boynesiders
DROGHEDA UNITED MONAGHAN- CAVAN 3 3
DARRAGH Curtin popped up with a superb 94th-minute leveller as Drogheda United Under-17s twice came from behind to secure an exciting draw at home to Monaghan-Cavan last Saturday.
Games between these two teams this season have been even enough, and after a very tight opening half-hour the visitors took advantage of lapses in the home defence to build a strong lead by half-time.
Firstly, a poorly-defended corner on 33 minutes gave the visitors a free header from which they scored, and five minutes later a mix-up in the home defence and failure to clear the ball led to a second Monaghan-Cavan goal.
The Boynesiders started the second period well and were the better team as they tried to carve out chances as the half went on.
With 15 minutes to go, Kyle Robinson pulled a goal back and sub Ugochukwu Anny-Nzekwue equalised in spectacular fashion five minutes later when he struck a brilliant shot from 20 yards to the corner of the net.
With two minutes to go a long ball up the middle was toe-poked into the net by the visitors for a 3-2 lead, but deep into stoppage time John Donohoe’s boys were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box and up stepped Curtin to hit a magnificent free into the top corner of the net to secure a hard-earned point for the Drogs. DROGHEDA UNITED: Ben Murphy, Ross Quigley (Luke Campbell), Dean O’Shea, Sam O’Brien, Lukus Maher, Aaron Smith (Pedro White), Jamie Whelan (Osasere Sere Ogiehor), Darragh Curtin, Aaron Smith, Kyle Robinson, Frank Cabraley, Callum Leonard (Ugochukwu Anny-Nzekwue). Sub not used: Ross Harper. •Drogheda United Under-19s’ match away to Monaghan-Cavan provided even more drama as the Boynesiders returned home with all three points following a 4-3 win. The result leaves Drogheda seventh in the table.
However, Drogheda United Under-15s suffered a 3-0 defeat away to Finn Harps at the weekend and now look like finishing fifth in their division of the National League.