‘12th man is a cliche but it gives us an extra bit’
CONOR Kane is calling on Drogheda United fans to raise the roof when his side make their home debut in this year’s Premier Division campaign against promoted club Waterford on Friday night.
The bookies predict both teams are going to struggle this year and BoyleSports actually make the Drogs and Sligo 100/1 rank outsiders to dethrone the defending champions Shamrock Rovers, with Waterford priced at 50/1.
The Boynesiders returned home pointless from last week’s trip to Derry and wing-back Kane acknowledged that it’s going to be important to get some points on the board quickly.
But having had an allocation of just 75 tickets last week due to redevelopment work at The Brandywell, Drogheda’s chances of picking up a result will certainly be boosted by the sound of more than 1,500 raucous home supporters.
“The place will be rocking and it’s probably sold out already,” he smiled when asked whether he was looking forward to returning to the charismatic Windmill Road venue.
“Ah listen, we’re really looking forward to getting back to Weavers Park and playing in front of a full house. I know the 12th man thing is a cliche and it might sound a bit cringey, but the 12th man defo gives us an extra bit, 100 per cent.
“It’s going to be a massive game so early on against Waterford, so we need to have a good week’s training and be ready.”
The Blues have made 11 signings from nine different clubs since earning promotion via the play-offs, defeating Cork City in the final, and they kicked off their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Shelbourne last Friday night.
Kane can’t name too many of their players but is well aware of the quality in Keith Long’s squad.
He said: “It’s hard to tell from pre-season because you can’t really see clips of teams, but just going from the squad they’ve obviously got some experienced players from around the league and a few lads on loan, and then Pádraig Amond up front.
“He’s obviously an experienced boy who scores goals, so he’s going to be a threat and they’re going to have threats all over the park, so we’re just going to have to nullify them.”
Kane certainly wasn’t overly negative about Drogheda’s narrow defeat at the hands of Derry City as he made his way to the team bus shortly after the final whistle.
“Kev was just saying that there were a lot of positives to take from the game. Obviously Derry are a very good side and are going to be up there challenging at the top end of the table, and this is probably the toughest place to come now in the division.
“We’ll take the positives from it. The goals obviously weren’t great. It was sloppy on our end and there’s definitely things that we can work on, so that’s a good sign.
“I don’t think any of us had much ball in the first half. They’re a good side and a big team as well, so playing out from the back is their thing and set pieces as well. You’ve got to defend right from open play and set pieces, and to be fair I thought we defended really well.”
As for Evan Weir’s long-range free kick, Kane felt there were question marks about how good a goal it was.
“Obviously there was the peno – missed penos can happen in football – but you could hear the place erupt as soon as Brian Maher saved it and then the momentum changed.
“Some might say there was a deflection and Evan’ll say there wasn’t, but it was a great free kick and a great strike. He’s got a great left foot, to be fair to him, so we know he can do things like that.
“We needed that and I thought we were well in it after that.”
As for Kane’s own performance, well he had a challenging night against Paul McMullan but held his own against the highly rated forward who has played almost 50 games in the Scottish Premier
League for Dundee United and Dundee.
“I think he might have thought he had a bit more pace than me, but I think I proved I can keep up with him,” Kane smiled.
“Maybe once or twice he got a cross in, but I don’t think he actually beat me. I think he crossed from deep, so I thought I done alright from my end.”
At the other end of the field, it proved to be a night to forget for Drogheda striker Frantz Pierrot, who was substituted at half-time.
However, Kane is confident he’ll be a big asset for the team this year.
“He’s obviously played in the First Division, and this league is a lot more quick and he’s going to be playing against better centre-halves. “But, listen, there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve seen him in pre-season and training and he’s a top player and a handful for defenders. He just gave away a few fouls and that’s probably what it was.”
As for Kane himself, he’s loving the opportunity to have a second spell with the Boynesiders, having spent the second half of last season on loan from Shelbourne, and will make his 156th appearance for Drogheda against Waterford.
“I’m loving it. To be fair, I love the club. It’s a great place to play and I feel the club off Kev, the fans and everyone around the club.
“It’s a great group of lads, to be fair, so every day going in I enjoy it and that’s the main thing.”