Drogs ⚽ Sligo ⚽ No Salah

Anthony McIntyre ⚽ After the abysmal midweek performance by Liverpool's millionaires, it was revitalising to yesterday evening watch Drogheda United's part timers play with pride and passion.

None of those players pretend they are worth almost half a million a year, never mind a week, while refusing to deliver anything close to what would justify such a colossal payout. The combined team would not make half a million in a month, yet they give their all. Unlike the nouveau riche poseurs in Liverpool red, they wear the claret and blue out of passion and not a sense of entitlement.

There is a case to be made in top drawer soccer for Cash On Delivery.

If you don't deliver you don't get paid. Your wages can go to homeless shelters or soup kitchens. Some fans will at least have a place to put their head down on a full belly after watching the dismal displays you serve up.

My perennial pal for soccer matches was absent last night. Paddy was in sunnier climes but I texted him the scores during the game. My companion last night was my son. It was his first game of the season but he seemed to enjoy it even more than I did.

I get more enjoyment from watching Drogheda United play, win or lose, than I do from Liverpool. I can relax during a Drogs game but never when Liverpool are playing. My wife says I am not just as emotionally involved in the Drogheda thing. That's true. I can never forget the 97 fans from Hillsborough, unlawfully killed by South Yorkshire Police. It leads to a feeling that if you want to turn out in a shirt for Liverpool, then step up to the plate with a professional determination to win. If in the course of a soccer game fans can die, players can at least try. Trying is always easier than dying.

Last night was a beautiful sunny evening, great for watching soccer. I had a hip flask of Jack Daniels, the last droplet imbibed in the final minute of the game. When the Drogs and the Bit O'Red meet, the fans tend to get value for money.

Last time I watched these sides battle it out was a couple of months ago in the Showgrounds with my friend Alfie. Sligo emerged 3-1 winners despite the Drogs putting up spirited resistance. That result was flipped last night at Weavers Park with the home side claiming all three points in a hard fought clash.

We had barely time to settle in our seats before our hopes took an early nosedive when Sligo snatched the lead after only six minutes with a finely taken Will Fitzgerald goal. That was followed by a few wayward Drogheda efforts which earned them my howls of Nunez, Salah, while my son smiled, seemingly looking around for an exit to enable him to get away from his embarrassment of a da.

On the 24 minute mark all that changed with a wonderfully executed Darragh Markey strike. But it took another 45 minutes for the Drogs to go in front. Frantz Pierrot, who always looked menacing and aggressive in his pursuit of the ball neatly converted from the penalty spot, following a clumsy challenge by the Sligo captain.

Drogheda did well to survive a sustained period of pressure immediately after half time. But once they broke the siege they were always in with a fighting chance. And fight is exactly what they did. Victory was sealed with a great individual effort from Aaron McNally who drifted through the Sligo defence before placing his ball beyond the keeper. Rapture Day had arrived.

This is only the second victory of the season for the home side. It leaves Drogheda United still second from bottom, only local Louth rivals Dundalk beneath them. The Drogs are not that far off the five clubs above them. Given poor away performances, the Kevin Doherty's men will need to rely on home fixtures to ensure they play Premiership football next year. At the bottom end of the table it is not crucial to run fast, just faster than the team behind. If the Drogs can leapfrog above one more side and hold their position, leaving Dundalk for the devil and his hindmost, relegation can be avoided.

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