MU20 2-1 vs Derry City
We got our rewards for starting brightly & scored after 4 minutes. Good work by Sam Case to Cian Wilson down the right hand side to get a corner, which was put in expertly by Cian Cleary & turned in bravely by Luke Povall. Drogs continued to apply pressure & some great individual play by Dare Kareem forced a superb save from the Derry goalkeeper after a shot from 20 yards out looked like it was curling into the top corner. Derry seemed to have more of the ball from mid way on in the first half but no real threat as Drogheda’s shape off the ball helped nullify any attacking threat from the away side.
Derry’s only attempt at goal came on the half hour mark when a ball played over the top was met by the onrushing winger who converted to level the game.
In the second half, we started brightly again & started to press higher up the pitch with Harry O’Connor & 17 year old Sean McGrath causing Derry problems which led to more chances created by the home side from turnovers. Cleary & Case continued to cause problems down both flanks which pushed Derry further back. Drogheda defended brilliantly which allowed us to play more into the Derry half.
Another dominant display by the energetic Scott Brady in midfield who covered the whole pitch, whipped in a brilliant cross from the 2nd phase of a corner which was met by substitute Callum Bonner whose powerful header gave the Derry keeper no chance.
Drogheda made more impactful subs & nearly scored again from great play between McGrath, Cameron Feehan & Taylor Mooney which led to a solid save from the Derry keeper. Bonner continued to cause Derry problems with his pace in Behind & set Kareem up for another chance which was brilliantly saved from the Derry keeper again & then cleared away.
Derry tried to go long but the 3 centre halves in Ryan Graham, Evan Haddock & Luke Povall controlled & cleared everything that came their way with help from Theo Hennessy in goals. Good play by Mooney & substitute Ultan McLaughlin in the corner allowed us see out the game with 2-1 win. A hard earned & well deserved victory going into next week’s game against top of the table St Pats.
MU15 3-1 vs Derry City
The game started off with high intensity as both teams started well. Some great defending by Drogs back line of James, Patrick, Aaron, and Alex kept Derry scoreless. Hard craft in the middle by Sean Hegarty and Evan Carberry helped Drogheda to start getting a grip on the game. The first goal came from Gearoid Hannigan with some lovely football by Drogheda. The lads kept at Derry with fine attacking play from Gearoid, Evan Kelly, Adam Johnstone and Conor Hassett up top. Hassett got his reward on 30 minutes to give Drogheda a 2 goal lead going in at halftime.
The 2nd half started just as hectic as the first. Tired bodies due to both the heat and the work rate from the home team led to a couple of changes. Jayden Kearns on for Patrick Bourke. Alex Carainica on for Evan Carberry and Cillian Gunnery on for Sean Hegarty. Drogheda found themselves down to 10 men on 55mins….back to the wall for the Drogs. Derry made it 2-1 with a fine strike. Sam Eglington and Jack McDonnell were introduced, and Drogheda needed to dig deep to hold off the pressure from Derry.
Some fine saves from Liam Greenslade, now in goal for James Pullen, kept the score at 2-1. Darragh Reilly Brannigan was introduced for the hard-working Hassett up top. A great break by Drogheda saw Gearoid Hannigan fouled when through on goal. Gearoid converted a great free kick to make it 3-1. Great 3 points for Drogheda up next a home game against St. Pats.
