Drogs ⚽ Hoops ⚽ Still Top

Anthony McIntyre ⚽ For this one, our quartet was joined by a friend from Belfast.

Glen hadn't been here in a few years so took the notion of coming down and catching a game . . . as well as a few beers. It was great to see him again but wished he could have watched a more gritty performance from the Drogs on the night that was in it.

On the drive over, we were all confident. Jay predicted a 2-1 win for Drogheda. On the way in to the ground, I stopped to chat with Anthony the steward and asked for a prediction. Like Jay he felt both teams would score but the home side would emerge on top.

Despite the pyro display from the home supporters that sat a hoarding on fire and caused the kick off to be delayed by about five minutes, it was to be a night of few fireworks on the field from the Drogs. The Drogs Ultras are not gurriers out to wreck and ruin but they need to be alert to the risk that incendiaries such as flares pose. There is an accident waiting to happen if their use is not cut out.

Drogheda went into the game at the top of the League, while Shamrock Rovers were third from bottom. Given recent form we had hoped that the chances of a team rooting around the bottom beating the league leaders would be marginal. How wrong that proved to be. The Drogs were set up to play defensively. Paddy spotted it instantly, pointing out as the match progressed that the shape of the claret and blue suggested they were going to play like an away side. Why such a lack of confidence? His logic was that if you play negatively the chances are you will get a negative result.

Conor Keeley put the Drogs ahead in the 33rd minute with a fine strike from the edge of the box. But they failed to press home their advantage, structured in such a way that whatever the strategy, containment rather than penetration was the dominant instinctive strain on the night. The Drogs massed at the wrong end of the field, merely inviting the Hoops to attack. Our hope to get the team off the pitch for half time still a goal ahead were dashed four minutes before the break when Aaron Greene stuck a fine equaliser. Conor Keeley will be disappointed that he did not defend better.

On the 70 minute mark the Hoops took the lead through an expertly executed Graham Burke goal, the build up to which saw the Drogs defence sliced open. In the dying minutes Shane Farrell missed a penalty.

The odds always have to favour the penalty taker not the keeper, so Farrell has to take the hit for that. While a good save his shot was placed far too close to the keeper. We had expected and hoped for better from a player we regard as the team's dead ball specialist. But it happens, even the best get nervous when so much is depending on it. Easier to take penalties from the stand than it is from the 12 yard spot. Farrell has been such a reliable player for the Drogs that few fans will give him stick for his miss. Yeah, in the moment there were groans of despair but they quickly passed.

Second place Waterford losing to Galway was the balm that soothed our disappointment somewhat. We left the ground with the Drogs still topping the table. Yet, if the Drogs fall into the habit of serving up performances like this their sojourn at the summit will be short lived with Pat's in second place ominously breathing down the necks of the claret and blue. Still, six games in and the Drogs on top. Few of us would have believed that was possible at the start of the year.

A big should out for the industrious Enda McCarville whose assistance in overcoming a few logistical problems was worth its wait in gold.

After the game, Paddy dropped myself, Ronan and Glen at the Pheasant, where we stayed until it closed, valiantly trying to ward off sobriety. Best bar in Drogheda to my mind. No small accolade given the competition.

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