Drogheda prove their mettle

LEAGUE CUP FINAL: Shamrock Rovers 1 Drogheda Utd 3:THREE LEAGUE defeats at the hands of last year's champions gave everyone at Drogheda a point to prove to their opponents on Saturday evening in Tallaght but the ease with which Mick Cooke's side overcame the Dubliners to lift the EA Sports cup is likely to have surprised quite a few neutrals as well.

United had to survive an early spell of pressure during which Ronan Finn would have scored but for a good stop by Gabriel Sava but they then went on to dominate a slightly scrappy game. Declan O’Brien gave his side the lead after 30 minutes following Kerrea Gilbert’s failure to cut out a low Gavin Brennan cross from the left and the Rovers right back was then unlucky to score against his own side when Oscar Jansson’s attempted clearance ricocheted off his shoulder and into the goal.

Briefly in the second half a fight-back seemed possible when Killian Brennan pulled one back with a fine free kick but almost without pausing for breath, Drogheda capitalised on more uncertainly amongst the locals to restore their two goal lead, with Eric Foley’s low drive deflected in the end past a helpless Jansson. After that, it was United all the way.

“The big thing tonight was the intensity that we played at,” said winning skipper Paul Crowley afterwards. “We didn’t play like that in the three league games and it’s something I said in the chat before the game; that we needed to lift our game because nobody can live with us when we play with that intensity.

“As for tonight, they started the better, it took us a while to get into it but when we did get into it I think we took over. Even going in 2-0 up at half-time it’s never over and you’re hoping to keep a clean sheet for 15-20 minutes of the second half. Instead, we conceded but then it shows the character of the team to go up the other end and get a third. It’s seen us through in the end.”

In reality it could have been more and Brian Laws said afterwards his side had looked hopelessly short of confidence once United found their stride and started to call the shots. In midfield, rovers were outfought and their strikers saw little or action after the opening 15 minutes or so.

A late injury to Ciarán Kilduff could rule him out for the rest of the league campaign and Gary Twigg did little here to suggest he can finish his Rovers career with any sort of flourish before an expected move to Portadown at the end of the campaign.

Precious few of his team-mates sparkled either, however.

Conor Powell’s sending off almost 20 minutes from time for a challenge on O’Brien sealed Rovers’ fate but by then they had been struggling to stay in the game for quite some time anyway with United looking by far the more likely to score the game’s fifth goal. Peter Hynes came closest to getting it late on but his miss made little difference in the end; Cooke’s men coasted to a win that would, given the club’s still recent brush with extinction, have seemed almost unthinkable at the start of the season. . .at least to those outside of United Park.

“We said (back in March) that we’d be looking for a top five finish and maybe a good cup run. We felt we were well capable of that, that the mix was right in the team.

“There’s a bit of experience and good young lads there and towards the end of the season we’re still digging in, getting good results when the odds are against us, playing away from home,” said Cooke.

This win, he insisted, shows United can also finish strongly in the league. “That’s one of the top teams in the country we’ve beaten tonight. 3-1. Comfortable. In their patch. For a small, part-time squad that’s not bad because it’s tough on the bodies but there’s the hunger and aggression there.

“So we’ll enjoy tonight and we’ll get back into training on Tuesday and we’ll push on again. We won’t be letting up.”

SHAMROCK ROVERS:Jansson; Gilbert, Sives, Hawkins, Powell; Rice; Finn, Brennan, McCabe (Dennehy, 60 mins); Kilduff (Twigg (65 mins), Stewart (Kavanagh, 60 mins).

DROGHEDA UTD:Sava; Gannon, McNally, Prendergast, Hand; Foley, R Brennan, Crowley; O'Brien (S Brennan, 90+3 mins), Hynes (Mulvenna, 90 mins), G Brennan.

Referee:T Connolly (Dublin).