Drogheda United's Markey secures Player of the Month in November
Darragh Markey Credit: Sportsfile
In an exciting conclusion to the football season, Darragh Markey of Drogheda United has been awarded the SSE Airtricity/Soccer Writers Ireland Player of the Month for November.
Markey played a key role in Drogheda's victory over Derry City in the Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup Final.
His performance continued to shine in the Premier Division Play-Off, where he assisted in two of the three goals against Bray Wanderers, sealing the team's place in the top tier.
The 27-year-old midfielder from Lucan, Darragh Markey, distinguished himself among a strong group of nominees for the monthly award.
His Drogheda United teammates, Elicha Ahui and Frantz Pierrot, were also contenders, alongside Johnny Kenny of Shamrock Rovers. Completing the list of nominees were JJ Lunney of league champions Shelbourne and Dylan Watts from Shamrock Rovers..
Reflecting on the season, Markey shared, "It was a mad end to the season for us and we certainly didn’t envisage that a few months earlier. We were at rock bottom in the squad back around May and June and we had no idea what lied ahead of us."
"We had a great team spirit to be fair. We stuck together and the gaffer played a big part too and you can’t underestimate that aspect of it," Markey noted.
The team’s turnaround was marked by strategic additions during the transfer window, which Markey believes were crucial.
"When the transfer window opened we added that bit of quality that perhaps we lacked and that got us over the line,” he added.
Markey, whose career began at St. Patrick’s Athletic and included playing at youth levels with Cherry Orchard, also celebrated the team's discipline following their cup victory.
"It was tough to keep the focus and concentration after winning the Cup final and in the run-up to the promotion/relegation play-off so we had to curtail our celebrations," he explained.
“We were back in training and recovery the morning after beating Derry and everyone just bought into it.
We knew the bigger game was to come and we knew staying in the Premier Division would be massive for the club. It was a great sign of professionalism from the whole squad and obviously it all paid off for us.”
