Anthony McIntyre ⚽ This was the first league match the three of us had attended in the new season.
Paddy and Jay had been abroad in much warmer climes for last week's victory over Sligo. Last month both had attended the President's Cup final which saw the Drogs go down 2-0 to Shelbourne.
Good to be back on the league circuit again to pick up from where we left off last season in Tallaght when the Drogs secured their place in top league soccer with a convincing win over Bray Wanderers. That victory made the current campaign possible. Late in the day Ronan asked if any tickets were available but too late. If you aren't in you can't win, the early bird gets the worm and all that. He wasn't too fussed, nor did he miss a pulsating game.
Last season Galway came from behind in time added on to secure victory at Weavers Park as it was then known, so we were under no illusion that it would be a walkover. Even when Drogheda went ahead through a first half Ryan Brennan goal, we sensed that another would be required to create a safety cushion. With Josh Thomas and Douglas James Taylor missing from the line up, we wondered from where the attacking prowess might emerge. Ryan Brennan's goal was his first in the league in eighteen months so it seemed statistically unlikely that lightening would strike Galway twice from the same source.
We thought the answer to that from where question was answered immediately after the second half started when Drogheda almost doubled their lead. What looked a certain goal was stopped on the line by the head of a Tribesmen. It was a block of such quality that it even won admiration from the Drogs fans. If we thought the opportunity augured well for the remainder of the game we were to have our hopes dashed. Galway, unfortunately, were allowed back into the contest. Poor defending combined with an unfortunate slip led to an equaliser. The score never changed after that so in the end the outcome has to be regarded as two points dropped. Galway, conversely, will see it as a point gained.
Drogheda now have five points from a possible nine after three games played. Unbeaten so far in the current campaign, they sit third, when they could easily have been sharing the top slot with champions Shelbourne on seven but for the lapse in concentration. The Irish Independent reported that the Drogs were top of the Premier league for 36 minutes. Disappointing not to have stayed there but reassuring nevertheless given the dire state of affairs facing the club in the early days of the 2024 season. Third in the Premiership ain't bad.
Unlike last week, this time out our view of the play was much better than it had been then. We were higher up in the stadium but there was no congregating along the wall other than at the Ultras end which is par for the course and does not block sight of the game too much. There was a real buzz at the stadium, as the atmosphere enveloped us immediately we had come through the turnstiles. The kids that show up generate an enthusiasm that is contagious. League of Ireland is on the up in Drogheda.
Bohs next in line. The hope is that at the very least the Drogs shall extend their unbeaten run to four.
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