Anthony McIntyre ⚽Without Jay's input, I don't think we made a prediction for the clash with Derry.
His presence at the games is determined by whether his mates are going. I was much the same at his age. Once my da had taken me to see Glentoran host Derry in a 2-2 draw at the Oval some time in the 1960s, I would go to future games with my buds. Better craic out of range of the parental eye.
It is possible that either I or Paddy did forecast a result but not being of mythical judicial sobriety, if we did it escapes my memory. Before Paddy arrived, I decided to finish off what was left in the brandy bottle, probably a glass. Just as he was puling up at the house I started to fill the hip flask with what remained in the Bacardi bottle. As it wasn't enough to fill the tank, I reached for the poteen which is in a 'The Chita' bottle, a superb Japanese whiskey given to me by Philip Smith but long since drained. Although Philip is in the legal profession he seems to have little interest in keeping me as sober as a judge. The poteen came from the late Patrick Callaghan, a renowned republican activist from South Armagh. He had given eight bottles to a friend, and fortunately one made its way to me.
On the way to the bar, we called in for my pre-match drink in the Windmill, a double whiskey, which went down quicker than usual given that the match was right upon us. Still, kudos to Paddy for having the patience while I imbibe the uisce beatha. As he drives he can't do what I do but will make up for it in two weeks time when we head off to the FAI Cup Final, a pub tour on our way to the match and the same on our way back. I no longer do the all day exceptions with the relish of old but cup final day has become a tradition.
As for the Drogs, they needed the points, while Derry didn't. The Candystripes can't win the league and neither will they be relegated. With the cup final on Candystripe minds, it was our hope that unlike myself the Drogs would put in a sober performance. Which is exactly what they did.
Seven minutes in saw Brandon Kavanagh score direct from a corner kick. Not often do we get to see that at a live game. If Derry were unnerved by that they soon recovered their composure and began to squeeze the Drogs. From our vantage point in the stand, it looked like Derry were the dominant side and could easily have drawn level but for some stout Drogheda defending. I grumbled to Paddy about the determination the Candystripes were showing. I couldn't figure it out, why their players would risk an injury going full throttle when the game, from their point of view, was pretty much a dead rubber, the result not much mattering, win or lose.
Fortunately, the Drogs finished pretty much as they started. Having taken the lead seven minutes after the start they doubled it seven minutes before the end. Mark Doyle seized on a defensive blunder and guided the ball home: an opportunist goal seized with gusto and finished with aplomb. The flares across the park came out and for once I didn't complain despite feeling they are a most unwanted and potentially maiming intrusion.
That is the seventh visit on the trot to the home of the Drogs in which Derry have failed to overcome the opposition. The Drogs victory coupled with Waterford losing to Bohemians allowed the Claret and blue to haul themselves out of the drop zone. I hauled myself out of my seat at the end, hip flask drained and dry.
Both sets of fans left Sullivan and Lambe with everything still to play for. Relegation battles might make for a nervy run in to the end of the season but they are hardly the stuff of tedium. Had Derry not been in the cup final their end of season final furlong would have been a mundane affair. It all adds up to this evening's away match between the Drogs and Waterford being crucial. It is a game Drogheda simply cannot afford to lose. Win it and then take all thee points from next Friday's final game home clash with Galway, and Premier League soccer next season will be secured. Without it, a season in the lower division offers a dull prospect - no matches against at the big Dublin sides. Getting a season ticket for that as a Xmas gift would have the feel of a booby prize. I will know soon enough what I want from Santa.
No comments