Shelbourne 1-0 Drogheda United

Real Reds held at bay by dogged 10 man Drogheda

Shels missed out on a glorious chance to stretch their lead at the top of the Eircom Premier Division to ten points following an absorbing scoreless draw at United Park yesterday. Cruising for the first 30 or so minutes, the visitors received an unexpected boost when the home side was reduced to ten men at the half hour mark when Darren O’Keeffe was red carded for the second time this season, this time for a needless lunge at James Keddy.

At that stage, the home side, under new manager Eddie May, had looked out of their depth in front of a bumper attendance. But there could have been few complaints as referee John Stacey branded the red card immediately.

However, Shel’s often predictable approach failed to create any undue worry for a massed home defence and committed Drogheda were well worth their share of the points. Indeed, they might have claimed an unlikely victory were it not for some top class goal keeping by Steve Williams.

The former Dundalk keeper had to be at his very best just nine minutes into the second half, diving full length to his left to push the ball out for a corner when a Greg O’Dowd cross from the right came off the leg of Pat Scully.

Then, nine minutes later, William’s again spread himself brilliantly to smother a shot by John Butler, who had been sent clear by Fergal Coleman, one of two half time substitutions. And the game was just eight minutes old when Reds oldie Paul Doolin was called upon to make a dramatic goal line clearance from red carded victim O’Keeffe following a 12 yard indirect free kick awarded against Williams for handling a Keddy back pass. The visitors’ best chance of the match came just ten minutes before the break, when Gary Haylock volleyed wide at the near post following a superb ball behind the Drogheda defence by Ritchie Baker.

Afterwards, Shel’s boss Dermot Keely, while slightly frustrated though not overly disappointed, lamented the absence of Stephen Geoghegan who was serving the second game of a two match suspension.

“I’ve seen plenty of these days before,” said Keely. “They lost a man and dropped everybody behind, leaving just one up front which makes it very difficult. And with a heavy, bumpy pitch, it made things even harder.

“To be honest, we had no real threat down the middle and that doesn’t happen when Geoghegan is playing. It always looks as if something is going to happen when he’s about.

“But you can’t fault Drogheda for the way they played. They are fighting for survival and every point counts. Plus there is a new manager in and the players want to impress. Realistically, you can’t expect to win every game and this was just one of those days.”

Meanwhile, May expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance in a game that was always likely to be difficult. “The period between the sending off and half time was our most difficult but we changed tactics slightly at half time and swapped a couple of players,” he said.

“In the second half, I felt we just edged it and might even have won it with the best chance of the match. But the most pleasing aspect was the way they responded to what was said at half time. They carried out the instructions given and you can’t ask for any more than that.”

Team: Williams; Heary, Geoghegan, McCarthy, Scully, D. Baker, Doolin, Haylock, R. Baker, Fenlon, Keddy. Sub: Kelly for Haylock (78). Referee: John Stacey (Athlone).