Gut-wrenching result as Drogheda snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
DROGHEDA UNITED 2 GALWAY UNITED 3
DROGHEDA United have left the field on several occasions this season wondering how they didn’t win - but this result will hurt the most.
The Boynesiders trailed to an early Galway goal but equalised before half-time and overcame the loss of Warren Davis to a serious injury before taking the lead with a superb Zishim Bawa strike. Bawa passed up a great opportunity to score again, but heading into injury time Drogheda still looked as comfortable as it’s possible for a team with a 2-1 lead to be.
However, Galway, who had scored only two goals in their previous five games, then somehow managed to score twice in the space of three minutes to leave the home fans stunned into silence.
The news afterwards that managerless Dundalk had sneaked a shock late winner against Shamrock Rovers probably darkened the mood in the dressing-room even more, for it leaves the bottom-of-the-table Lilywhites once again within touching distance of Drogheda. An eight-point gap heading into injury time in their respective games had suddenly shrunk to three.
All but one of Galway’s previous 15 games this season have had two goals or fewer scored - five had been 0-0 - so it was surprising to see such an open encounter from the first whistle and the Tribesmen enjoyed a dream start.
Drogs keeper Andrew Wogan did well to tip a Patrick Hickey shot over the bar, but from the resulting corner Conor McCormack’s ball in was met by Rob Slevin whose header nestled in the net, possibly via a deflection off Ryan Brennan.
Drogheda should have levelled in the sixth minute when Adam Foley flicked on a Davis cross and the ball was partially cleared into the path of Darragh Markey who somehow rolled his shot wide from just outside the six-yard box.
A great passing move involving Brennan, Luke Heeney, Foley, Davis and Evan Weir ended with another chance for Markey, but this time he curled a weak effort into the hands of Galway keeper Brendan Clarke.
The Boynesiders, though, eventually drew level in the 23rd minute after Markey’s mazy run was ended by McCormack’s lunging tackle just outside the box.
Inevitably it was Weir who stood over the ball and the leftback curled the resulting free kick around the ball and into the bottom corner of Clarke’s net for his fourth goal of the season.
Galway should have restored their lead on the half-hour mark when Andrew Quinn tried to keep the ball in play on the endline and instead presented it to Karl O’Sullivan. He crossed to the unmarked Stephen Walsh who side-footed wide when it looked easier to score.
The rest of the half belonged to Drogheda, though. Foley hooked a shot into the side netting, Weir ballooned another free kick into the Cross Lanes and Davis had a shot brilliantly parried by Clarke before Frantz Pierrot hooked the rebound over the bar.
Moments later, though, Davis was involved in a collision in the penalty area and the 19-year-old forward was stretchered off and taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital after being attended to by medics for more than 10 minutes.
Maurice Nugent came off the bench for Galway at half-time and was quickly into the action, sending a header from a long throwin narrowly wide. Weir, though, forced a fine save by Clarke from a long-range free kick and was denied again by the veteran netminder with a deflected shot from play.
Coming up to the hour mark, substitute Bawa - on for Davis robbed Garry Buckley in midfield and played the ball up to Markey who ran hard at the Galway defence but then seemed caught in two minds and his cross-shot was easily gathered by Clarke.
Weavers Park erupted again in the 73rd minute, though, when Galway couldn’t clear their lines from a right-wing cross and Markey rolled the ball to Bawa who smashed a first-time shot into the top corner for 2-1.
Galway created nothing over the next quarter-hour despite a raft of substitutions and Drogheda perhaps should have put the game to bed in the 89th minute when Hayden Cann pumped a long clearance into the opposition half and Bawa won the resulting 50/50 challenge before bursting clear, only to send his shot fizzing just the wrong side of the upright.
That miss was proved costly two minutes later as Slevin delivered a long, diagonal ball towards the back post from where three Galway players won headers as Wassim Aouachria and Walsh climbed above their markers and Nugent then applied the finishing touch off the underside of the bar.
Suddenly the Drogs looked vulnerable and Walsh hooked another shot over the bar before Galway nicked a scarcely believable third goal on 94 minutes. Nugent’s low shot from distance was going well wide, but Walsh was following in and he stuck out his right boot and stabbed the ball past Wogan for a gut-wrenching winner.
The final whistle sounded two minutes later and the Drogheda players stood like statues in the middle of the pitch, trying to comprehend what had just unfolded. They weren’t the only ones. DROGHEDA: Andrew Wogan 7; Luke Heeney 8, Andrew Quinn 7, Hayden Cann 8, Evan Weir 8; Gary Deegan 7, Ryan Brennan 7; Adam Foley 8 (Jack Keaney 81, 5), Darragh Markey 7 (Oisin Gallagher 87, 5), Warren Davis 8 (Zishim Bawa 45+6, 8); Frantz Pierrot 7. Subs not used: Matthew O’Brien, David Webster, Emre Topcu, Conor Kane, Killian Cailloce, Jethren Barr.
GALWAY: Brendan Clarke 7; Jeannot Esua 7; Rob Slevin 7, Killian Brouder 7, Al-Amin Kazeem 7 (Leo Gaxha 89, 5), Patrick Hickey 7 (Maurice Nugent 46, 8), Conor McCormack 6 (Garry Buckley 46, 5), Karl O’Sullivan 7 (Aodh Dervin 63, 7), David Hurley 7 (Francely Lomboto 78, 6), Edward McCarthy 6 (Wassim Aouachria 78, 6); Stephen Walsh 8. Subs not used: Conor O’Keeffe, Kyle Fitzgerald, Joseph Wright.
ATTENDANCE: 1,697