Drogheda put Athlone Town to the sword in FAI Cup clash
Athlone Town were dumped out by Drogheda on Friday night.
Athlone Town 1-4 Drogheda United
Athlone Town’s hopes of marking the 100th anniversary of their FAI Cup triumph with a long overdue second title ended in disaster.
And so instead of a Midlands fairytale there was a march from Louth to the semi-finals of a competition Drogheda last won in 2005. Don’t rule out the idea of the engravers scribbling the Louth club’s name on the trophy once again this year.
While they have flaws, as well as a lowly league position, the summer additions of Luke Dennison and Douglas James Taylor have revitalised Kevin Doherty’s side, making them both potent in attack and secure at the back.
It was Taylor who broke the deadlock and who then broke Athlone hearts with a goal in either half. Ryan Brennan then broke the internet with a David Beckham-type free-kick to make it 3-0.
From Athlone’s perspective, anything that could have gone wrong did so. They were competitive, organised, energetic and decent. Yet the gulf between First Division and Premier is as wide as the Irish Sea.
We saw that early on when Taylor got their opener, a simple enough finish, caused by a complicated series of mistakes within the Athlone set-up as first a miscued header was followed up by a handling error by keeper, Enda Minogue.
Drogheda weren’t slow to capitalise, Frantz Pierrot, the former Athlone striker, teeing up Taylor for an 11th minute tap-in.
And with that the tone of the game changed.
All of a sudden, Athlone stopped believing.
And all of a sudden, Drogheda started schooling their First Division opponents in the dark arts of cup football, their game management so much more astute than their lower league opponents.
And they remained a constant threat via Pierrot, whose ability to win primary possession and then link the play with his advancing midfielders, was the biggest individual influence on this opening half.
He too could have had a goal - a 25th minute shot rebounding off the post - yet even though he was unfortunate with that attempt, he didn’t allow the moment to ruin his evening.
Instead he played with composure and grit. For that matter, so too did Dave Webster at the opposite end of the pitch, while Brennan’s astuteness allowed Drogheda dictate the terms of that opening half.
As a spectacle, that opening 45 minutes was spoiled by two things: the wind and the pitch.
And while there is nothing anyone can do about that first issue, the second one simply requires foresight and bravery from those in charge of the League. A ban on artificial surfaces is long overdue. They ruin games.
Taylor and Brennan then combined to ruin Athlone’s evening.
First to do so was Taylor, who got his second goal of the game, when he followed up his initial header, one that cannoned off the crossbar, to steer home the rebound.
That goal arrived on 51 minutes and while Athlone responded with a couple of risky substitutions, Kyle Robinson and Peter McGregor coming on to give them pace and energy in attack, the gamble didn’t come off.
It was Brennan who made sure it didn’t, the veteran putting the result of this game beyond doubt when he curled a brilliant free-kick high over the wall and into the corner of Minogue’s net to make it 3-0 on 60 minutes.
There was no coming back from that.
Instead things got worse before they got better for the hosts, sub Adam Foley getting Drogheda’s fourth before Dean Ebbe, who had played well as a lone striker, got the goal his performance deserved when he stroked home an 85th minute penalty.
The spark from that goal renewed their energy.
But while they finished on the front foot, Robinson had a shot cleared off the line, this was Drogheda’s night. The question now is whether it can become their year.
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