Anthony McIntyre ⚽ When Waterford last visited Weavers Park, it was humiliation for the Drogs.
It was the worst display by the home side I had the misfortune to watch. There was to be no repetition of that this time out. Which might surprise some.
Back in February when the home side folded, it could at least be explained away by bad luck while Waterford had the fortune of the newly promoted - beginners' luck. It might take a bit of time for the side to settle but once it did, up and away. None of that happened and the Drogs sit grounded at the bottom of the table, lower division football next season almost a certainty at this point. So, with that wind blowing against them as they came onto the pitch last evening, there was no reason to feel uber confident.
Paddy, when he was over at my house yesterday morning, speculated that the three points could quite possibly be secured and deposited in the struggle to stay up, but anything less would be the end of the battle to escape the drop. While never as optimistic as him I did feel that in last week's cup clash with Dundalk, some serious repair work had been done on the defensive set up. So maybe . . .
Last night Drogheda played a 3-5-2 formation but the emphasis was clearly on defence. Often there was a flat back line of five tasked with containing the Waterford attackers. Once the threat was repelled two of the back five quickly moved up field with one acting as a number 6. Having conceded thirteen goals in four games to now having given away only one in the last two, the focus on a robust defence seems to be paying dividends. Since the departure of Conor Keeley the Drogheda backline has wilted and wavered but with the insertion of James Bolger, an element of steel and assuredness has been injected into it. It suddenly looks dependable.
Within fifteen minutes Drogheda were a goal up, a goalkeeper howler gifted them the lead. An easy catch was not held firmly enough. Frantz Pierrot was in the right place to pounce on the error. It was an lead they never relinquished. Although it seemed they did try almost from the restart to haul the visitors back on level terms. A ball inexplicably let go by a Drogheda defender almost allowed Waterford to strike, but the opportunity was spurned. There was a lot of gesticulating after that as the blame was shifted around.
It was a mistake not to be repeated. at least not by the Drogs. In the very final minute of the game before added time it was the turn of the last defender standing on the Waterford team to misjudge. This led to a race from his own half by Adam Foley, who managed to stay ahead of the chasing posse to slot home a fine finish when one-on-one with the keeper. Even with too much time to think and consider his options, Foley kept both his nerve and composure, in the process opening the valve through which flowed a collective sigh of relief. The way the Drogs had defended up until then, even my pessimistic self commented that there was no way we were going to repeat the fiasco against Galway where two goals were conceded in time added on.
Early on in the game Paddy told me that the Bohs were leading Dundalk by a solitary goal down in Dalymount Park. I was hoping for an unlikely Bohs victory. Unlikely, because they have only managed one win in twelve league outings and none in the last seven. When Dundalk levelled, my heart sank but Paddy had a more strategic take on any drawn outcome: Bohs are just four points above Dundalk, while Drogheda were five beneath their northern rivals. Better that none of them win so that the Drogs can stay within touching distance of one or both. That made sense. Drogs now sit at the bottom on twenty points, three behind Dundalk and 7 off Bohemians. Staying up has once again become doable. Drogheda have now secured their fourth win in the league. Not a great achievement overall but one that is important and keeps alive that hope of survival.
Throughout the game there were complaints from the seated fans about the number of kids congregating at the wall alongside the pitch. They were thwarting the view of those seated lower down the stand, a matter worsened when some took to waving flags. Children need to be able to enjoy the sport but so too do the seated adults. Only once did a steward intervene to ask a youngster to stop waving the flag as it was blocking the view of other spectators.
My own son headed up to the Ultras towards the end of the first half on seeing some of his friends from Balbriggan there. I haven't seen him since, room empty this morning when I called in. Probably on the beer somewhere, he will roll in later to raid the fridge and sleep. J stayed the course even though it was a long day for both him and Paddy. They arrived to pick us up straight from a goalkeeping session J took part in somewhere in Dublin, and was part of the post-match dissection that invariably happens on the journey home.
Yesterday the Drogs announced plans for a 4,500 seater stadium. They are now competing off-field with seven other clubs to secure finance from the government's Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund. More performances like last night's and the government might consider them a worthwhile investment.
 |
| ⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre. |
No comments