Anthony McIntyre ⚽On the previous two occasions that the Drogs fielded Dublin teams they managed a draw.
So the expectation on the way over to the game was a similar outcome, Jay feeling it would be 1-1. Myself and Paddy called into the Windmill Tavern before going into the match. I had a glass of wine, and as he was in the driver's seat he opted for something different. We had hardly taken our seats in the stadium, before our confidence in a draw evaporated in front of our eyes. Not even a minute in and Pat's were a goal to the good. A stunning finish in the 36th second, it didn't win our appreciation, coming at us more like an electric shock.
We came to the ground - knowing how hard the Dublin sides are to play against - expecting at least a fight. It soon got worse and by half time, the visitors were three up, the home side not having managed a shot on goal until the thirty second minute. That sinking felling that accompanies dark visions of rooting around in the relegation zone shuddered its way though my mind.
At the break, sucking on my mints, I commented to Paddy that I feared Pat's might do to Drogs what the Claret and Blue had done to Sligo two seasons back, when the Bit O 'Red were sent back to Connacht having taken a 7-0 pasting. To my surprise and relief it wasn't to be. Drogheda came out for the second half like a team possessed whatever Kevin Doherty had bawled at them in the dressing room. To boot he brought on three subs. With former captain Ryan Brennan on the pitch, a steel rod was inserted down the spine of the team. A side more known for its defensive posture suddenly went on all out attack.
At the break, sucking on my mints, I commented to Paddy that I feared Pat's might do to Drogs what the Claret and Blue had done to Sligo two seasons back, when the Bit O 'Red were sent back to Connacht having taken a 7-0 pasting. To my surprise and relief it wasn't to be. Drogheda came out for the second half like a team possessed whatever Kevin Doherty had bawled at them in the dressing room. To boot he brought on three subs. With former captain Ryan Brennan on the pitch, a steel rod was inserted down the spine of the team. A side more known for its defensive posture suddenly went on all out attack.
But for some fantastic goalkeeping Drogheda could have secured a draw. The solitary goal they did get came paradoxically from a keeper error which was seized upon by Brandon Kavanagh who converted his opportunity in a fashion reminiscent of Real Madrid's Arda Güler. So aggressive and dominant were the home side that Pat's were not allowed out of their own half despite the urgings of Stephen Kenny as he paced his technical area, concern etched on his face.
The second half performance was so good that leaving the stadium at the game's end, 1-3 losers, our spirits were much higher than they had been an hour earlier. The Drogs actually showed what they are capable of when they ditch the Drawda mindset and go for goal. What bounce we derived from the second half performance was to be tempered by a Sligo Rovers victory over bottom club Waterford the following day. That result left the Drogs in play off position, something nobody expected at the start of the season, but with nine matches on the trot and not a victory to show it was inevitable.
That ability to play attack minded soccer was evident the following week when away at Shelbourne, Drogheda recovered from a two goal deficit to emerge as 3-4 winners, a remarkable achievement. While I missed last night's home game against Sligo Rovers due to a stomach bug, the claret and blue secured another victory which lifted them out of the bottom two slots, a huge relief to the fans who have endured quite a lot of anguish in recent times, not just as a result of a constant slippage towards the drop but also down to the fallout caused by the way Joanna Byrne was pushed off the board on the insistence of the owners, the Trivela group.
Shamrock Rovers on Monday at Tallaght Stadium will be a big challenge which could easily see the Drogs rise out of the relegation zone halted. I will be in Dublin but for another event so while I will not get to see the game, I will most certainly keep an eye on the score. Despite the tedium of draws, this is one where 0-0 would be a satisfactory outcome.
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