Report: Drogheda United 2 - 1 Levadia Tallinn

Drogheda United came from behind to keep their hopes of reaching the Champions League group stages alive with a 2-1 victory over Estonian champions Levadia Tallinn at Dalymount Park on Wednesday night.

A sloppy back pass from Drogheda defender Graham Gartland gifted Levadia a first half lead. However, an Ollie Cahill header and a close range strike from Faz Kudozovic secured a vital first leg win for the Drogs.

Drogheda manager Paul Doolin made three changes from the side which defeated UCD in their last outing in the league. Fit-again Dan Connor replaced Jamie Ewings in goal, while Richie Baker replaced John Tambouras. Eamon Zayed dropped to the bench, with Shaun Maher coming in, as Doolin chose to play Faz Kudozovic on his own in attack.

The home side opened reasonably brightly, but they fell behind after 26 minutes following some sloppy defending from Gartland. The Tallaght-man was the villian two years ago when Drogheda crashed out of Europe, missing two spot-kicks in an epic penalty shoot-out against IK Start in the Uefa Cup, and so he was to be again. Gartland gifted Levadia the lead on 26 minutes when he sloppily left a pass-back to his goalkeeper Dan Connor short allowing Tarmo Kink to nip-in, round Connor and slot the ball home from the right hand side of the box to give the away side a vital away goal.

Drogheda enjoyed the lion's share of the possession for much of the first half, but they failed to create any real chances of note. A weak Kudozovic shot from the edge of the area which bobbled harmlessly wide was as close as they came. As Doolin followed his charges down the tunnel at half-time he was met with a chorus of boos from the Drogheda fans mixed with chants of 'bring on a striker'.

Despite having no less than four forwards on the bench, there was to be no immediate change from Doolin, however whatever he said during the interval clearly rallied his troops as the Co Louth men re-emerged with a renewed vigour in the second half. Just two minutes after the re-start they were almost back on level terms. Kudozovic sent Shane Robinson in behind the static Levadia defence but he drove his shot narrowly wide.

The home side didn't have to wait too much longer for that equaliser, however. With just five second half minutes gone, Byrne's pin-point cross was met by the head of Cahill six yards out and his header crashed of the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

That goal prompted Doolin to introduce another striker with Paul Keegan making way for Eamonn Zayed on 51 minutes. The former Bray Wanderers man played through the middle with Richie Baker providing support on the right and Kudozovic dropping out to the left.

As Drogheda pushed more men forward, Levadia delivered a timely reminder that they too were capable of grabbing a second goal, with first Vadim Petrenko and then Nikita Andreev going close. That was to be as close as the Estonians were to come for the remainder of the match, however, as Drogheda took control.

The decision to change to a more attacking formation paid off for Doolin, when Kudozovic put Drogheda in front on 67 minutes. Drogheda were awarded a free kick 25 yards out when Andrei Kalimullin was adjudged to have handled. Baker's free-kick struck the 'keepers right hand post with the resulting free-kick but the ball cannoned out to the feet of Kudozovic who rolled the ball into the empty net from just two yards out.

Drogheda continued to pour forward and Adam Hughes should have added a third on 70 minutes, but he fired wide after a neat lay-off from Baker. Gartland then missed a great chance to make amends for his earlier error when he failed to connect with another Baker cross, in what was to be the home side's final chance of note in the game.

While Drogheda were able to hold on for the victory, their failure to grab a third goal combined with Gartland's gift of an away goal could well come back to haunt them when the two sides meet again in Tallinn next week.

Drogheda United: Dan Connor; Stuart Byrne, Graham Gartland, Shaun Maher, Joe Kendrick; Richie Baker, Shane Robinson, Adam Hughes, Paul Keegan (Eamon Zayed 51), Ollie Cahill; Fahrudin Kudozovic.
Subs not used: Jamie Ewings, John Tambouras, Declan O'Brien, Guy Bates, Sami Ristila, Ibrahima Iyane-Thiam.

Booked: None.

FC Levadia: Martin Kaalma, Andrei Kalimullin, Tihhon Sisov, Marek Lamsalu, Taijo Teniste; Sander Puri (Vitali Leitan 67), Konstantin Nahk, Vadim Petrenko (Kristian Marmor 81), Tarmo Kink (Indrek Zelinski 90), Deniss Malov; Nikita Andreev.
Subs not used: Sergei Lepmets, Eino Puri, Igor Morozov.

Booked: Kalimullin (68)

Referee: Gabriele Rossi (San Marino)

Extratime Man of the Month: Ollie Cahill (Drogheda United).