I somehow managed to miss my train - not paying attention - but made the next one which still left me with plenty of time to spare once I reached my destination. Alfie jumped on at Ballymote before we headed to Sligo town to guzzle Guinness and gulp Pizza.
In the bar a pair of Orchards Thieves reps invited us to sample their latest product - a crisper more tart cider than what we are used to from the brand. Alfie was on the wagon so he kept to Zero drinks whereas I took up the offer . . . and his to boot. Wasn't even a case of buy one get one free - all of it was gratis.
After Pizza we made the short distance on foot to the Showgrounds. The irony of it is that I ended up speaking to more Drogs fans there than I do at home fixtures. Maybe there is that band of brothers type thing amongst those who travel for the away games. Not that we had a great turnout.
The match did not go as I had hoped but more as I had feared. The Drogs put up a spirited performance but poor coordination along its defensive left flank allowed Sligo to first strike and then do the same again. Each time the Sligo team advanced along their right wing, alarm bells went off in my head.
Max Mata was the main Sligo threat, which he aptly demonstrated with his tally of two goals for his evening's work. At one point it looked as if keeper Andrew Wogan might be in serious trouble after he crashed into Mata in the penalty area. Fortunately the ref decided that there was not enough in it to award either a penalty or a card.
Trailing by two goals at half time, almost 15 minutes into the second period Drogheda managed to pull one back and for long enough they were in the game, pressing well, winning the second ball, hemming the opposition in their own half. But it came to nothing as a clever flick in the closing minutes of the game saw Sligo with a two goal cushion. There was no way back.
Five games in and the Drogs are struggling, having been victorious only once this campaign. Shelbourne sit top with sixteen points with Sligo in third place on nine. Drogheda trail the leaders by twelve points and sit second from bottom, propped up by Louth rivals, Dundalk. It is a big gap considering the season has just got out of the traps.
At this point in the campaign it looks almost certain that only one Louth team will feature in the premiership next season. There remains a chance that both could make the drop. But I sense that the Drogs are gonna get their mojo moving. There was not much of a difference in quality between the sides at the Showgrounds despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise. It was certainly a much improved performance on what they put in against Waterford at home. The Drogs need to finetune their finishing because if they manage to convert the chances they create they can ease their way out of the relegation zone.
Match over, the players approached us in the away stand where we applauded them and they us. They lost but they went down fighting.
St Pats up next at home. Not yet at the point where a win is must or bust, but anything less will see very dark clouds gather over Weaver.
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