- Gerard Grimes
- Fri, Jul 07 2017
An early free kick from Eddie Dsane and a strike from Danny Morrissey earned Finn Harps a 2-0 victory at United Park.
It took Harps just four minutes to hit the front after Dsane was fouled by Sean Brennan, and the Englishman took the free kick himself and found the net, leaving Stephen McGuinness rooted to the spot.
Drogheda went close to equalising three minutes later with what would be the closest they would go to scoring in the entire game.
Thomas Byrne linked up well with Masterson on the left. Masterson played the ball back to Byrne and his brilliant first-time effort from 30 yards hit the upright of Ciaran Gallagher’s goal.
Drogheda captain Sean Brennan's free kick on 20 minutes found Ryan Masterson at the back post but his effort didn’t threaten Gallagher and the ball went out for a Harps goal kick.
Harps captain Ciaran Coll was creator for his side two minutes later as he teed up Caolan McAleer. McAleer took a touch and shot but his curling effort towards the far corner was gathered by McGuinness.
Ciaran McGuigan was next to try for Drogheda, minutes after coming on as a first-half substitute, but his wild effort veered wide from all of 40 yards.
Less than a minute later, McGuigan gifted the ball to McAleer on the edge of his own box but, to Drogheda’s relief, the low shot from the Harps midfielder was saved by McGuinness.
McGuigan was again at fault soon after. This time, it was goalscorer Dsane who won the ball back deep in the Drogheda half. Support was slow to arrive for the Harps man and his shot from the edge of the box rose high over the bar.
Drogheda had one more chance to equalise on the stroke of half time when they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box after Ethan Boyle handballed. However, Thornton's strike beat both the wall and goal as it went over the bar.
Harps were the better team in the second half and created far more chances than the hosts, with McAleer constantly involved.
Three minutes into the second half, McAleer created enough space to cross the ball into the box from the right-hand side but Drogheda’s Luke Gallagher managed to clear the ball away from danger.
McAleer was again at the centre of the action eight minutes later as his curling effort forced McGuinness into making a good save.
The home side managed to create a number of chances in the fifteen minutes that followed but none of them troubled the Harps goal.
The first, a header by Lloyd Buckley after he connected with Sean Brennan’s corner, ended up in the housing estate behind United Park.
The next was another header, this time from Gallagher, who kept his effort in the ground, heading just over the bar after a great delivery into the box by Thomas Byrne from a free kick.
Harps kept pressuring Drogheda at every opportunity and made certain of all three points with sixteen minutes to play.
Sean Houston played the ball through to the feet of Danny Morrissey who clipped the ball over McGuinness just before he collided with the Drogheda keeper and the ball rolled into the Drogheda net.
Harps almost made it 3-0 before full time as another effort from McAleer looked goal bound only for a fingertip save from McGuinness to deny him.
This result means Drogheda now fall to the bottom of the table while Harps move to eighth, two points clear of the relegation zone.
Drogheda United: Stephen McGuinness; Lloyd Buckley, Kevin Farragher (Ciaran McGuigan 23), Luke Gallagher, Conor Kane; Sean Brennan, Sean Thornton (Jamie Hollywood 80), Ryan McEvoy, Jake Hyland, Thomas Byrne; Ryan Masterson (Adam Wixted 67).
Unused Subs: Ryan Coulter (gk), Stephen Dunne, Shane Elworthy, Mark Doyle.
Booked: Thomas Byrne (70).
Finn Harps: Ciaran Gallagher, Damien McNulty, Packie Mailey, Killian Cantwell, Ciaran Coll (c); Sean Houston, Ethan Boyle, Caolan McAleer (Pascal Millien 89), Paddy McCourt (Gareth Harkin 72); Eddie Dsane, Danny Morrissey (Barry Molloy 79).
Unused Subs: Harry Doherty (gk), Johnny Bonner, Tommy McBride, Kealan McDermott.
Booked: Damien McNulty (40), Eddie Dsane (62).
Referee: Graham Kelly.
Attendance: 500 (estimate).
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Caolan McAleer (Finn Harps).
