Drogheda United manager Tim Clancy was full of praise for his side after they knocked Shamrock Rovers out of the FAI Cup in the biggest shock of the first round. The Boynesiders advanced past the record Cup winners courtesy of Chris Lyons' first-hal
Drogheda United manager Tim Clancy was full of praise for his side after they knocked Shamrock Rovers out of the FAI Cup in the biggest shock of the first round.
The Boynesiders advanced past the record Cup winners courtesy of Chris Lyons' first-half penalty with Clancy adamant that they were worthy victors.
"It was the least we deserved, we were fantastic from the first whistle to the last," the Trim native explained post match. "We were playing one of the best teams in the country and we beat them on merit.
"Rovers may have had more of the ball but we had all the chances. This result is put into perspective when you realise that there are players at Rovers who earn more in a single week than our entire squad put together.
"We were without one of our key players in Sean Brennan who was suspended so we gave William Hondermarck his first start, a 17-year-old, and he was possibly the best player on the pitch. He was incredible."
The turning point of the game came midway through the first-half as Lyons and Hondermarck exchanged passes on the edge of the penalty area before the latter was hauled down by Lee Grace who was shown a straight red card.
"It was really good approach play between Chris and William and the defender stopped him from getting a clear shot on goal from a few yards out. There's no doubt it was a penalty but maybe the double jeopardy of the red card is harsh but they're the rules.
"We showed great maturity in our play for such a young team as we kept Rovers to long distance shots and I thought we were really unlucky not to seal the win with a second."
Drogheda will be back in league action next Friday as the First Division side look to keep pace with the promotion pack when they travel to Stradbrook Road to face Cabinteely.
"We'll keep an eye out for the draw during the week but the play-offs are our priority. We lost last time we played Cabo so we'll be looking to put that right.
"There's only four games left to play so hopefully we can get those couple of wins that'll cement our play-off spot."
