Town’s fortunes in cups change for better
DROGHEDA TOWN DARNDALE 2 0
DROGHEDA Town put the disappointment of the previous week’s first-round exit from the Leinster Junior Cup behind them when advancing in the FAI Junior competition with this victory at Blackstone Motors Marian Park on Friday night.
Manager Robbie Horgan tinkered a little with Town’s usual formation after watching Darndale play in an AUL match recently and he said his players had executed the plan very well.
However, they had to be patient as both the decisive goals didn’t come until the second half when Town bossed the game.
It was a different story in the first 45 minutes, which proved to be a much more even contest, and Bryan Smith in the Drogheda goals had to pull off a couple of good saves to keep the scores level.
The breakthrough eventually came around the hour mark when Jordan Kelly was taken down in the box by the Darndale goalkeeper, who got a yellow card for his troubles, and striker Andrew Tinley converted the resulting penalty kick.
Town settled the outcome around the 75-minute mark when one of the summer signings, the former Newfoundwell ace Cormac Reid, swung in a great ball from the right and Kelly rose highest in the box to plant a header to the Darndale net.
In the process he suffered a bout of cramp, and the Darndale keeper didn’t take kindly to what he saw as a bit of time-wasting and duly got a second yellow card for his reaction.
There was only going to be one winner after that and Town duly saw out the tie with little fuss to book their place in round three of the FAI competition.
Their next game is in the Leinster Senior League Major Division as they play host to Ardmore Rovers next Monday night.
Both those teams have just three points from their opening three games, but a win would lift Drogheda into a comfortable mid-table position at this early stage of the season.
DROGHEDA TOWN: Bryan Smith, Andy Hickey, Ciaran Cluskey Kelly, Dave McTeggart, Roy Kierans, Sam Reilly, Cormac Reid, Dean Haggins, Marty Walsh, Jordan Kelly, Andrew Tinley. Subs: Sanele Duma, Kevin Dunne, Ross Reid, Conor Smith, Vinny O’Hare, Darren Kavanagh, Alex Reilly.