Drogheda United 1
Derry City 1
DERRY CITY were denied a much needed win despite another Mark Timlin wonder goal in Drogheda.
Timlin’s free kick, late in the first half, gave Derry a deserved lead following a brilliant first display, but the hard work was ruined by a Sean Brennan equaliser in the second half.
Derry City started brightly and threatened within five minutes when Patrick McEleney found Ryan Curran in space but the striker’s low shot lacked power and goalkeeper Michael Schlingerman saved.
The one thing lacking from City’s performance in an impressive first half was a goal and they could have broken through on the half hour when Patrick McEleney led a three on two counter attack, playing Curran into the area on the right.
The young striker had Ronan Curtis screaming for the ball unmarked at the bac post, but Curran went for glory himself and sent his shit inti the side netting much to his team mates’ frustration.
But frustration turned to celebration on 39 minutes when Derry won a free kick 25 yards from goal, and Mark Timlin sent a beautiful shot over the wall and into the top corner over the despairing dive of Schlingerman to make it 1-0.
That lead disappeared in the opening ten minutes of the second half when a cross from Jason Marks found the run of Sean Brennan, who flicked a header over Gerard Doherty.
The Derry goalkeeper got a hand to the ball to send it onto the underside of the crossbar, but the referee’s assistant on the far side adjudged that the ball had crossed the line and Drogheda had their equaliser.
Drogheda were the better team in the second half and they should have won the game in added time, when Lee Duffy dispossessed Aaron Barry before taking the ball past Doherty, but just as the Drogheda man was about to shoot into the open goal, Barry got back to make a vital challenge to save a point for Peter Hutton’s team.
Teams
Drogheda: Michael Schlingerman, Joe Gorman, Alan Byrne, Michael Daly, Sean Brennan (Tiernan Mulvenna 86’), Lee Duffy, Adam Whelan (Cathal Brady 77’), Robert O’Reilly, Stephen Maher, Lloyd Buckley, Jason Marks.
Derry: Gerard Doherty, Seamus Sharkey, Dean Jarvis, Aaron Barry, Shane McEleney, Mark Timlin, Ronan Curtis (Georgie Kelly 84’), Philip Lowry, Barry McNamee, Patrick McEleney, Ryan Curran.
Referee: Neil Doyle
