Drogheda United made sure of their place in round two of the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup with a solid performance against Kilkenny junior side Evergreen. The SSE Airtricity League’s Premier Division side delivered a late charge which saw them stifle th
Drogheda United made sure of their place in round two of the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup with a solid performance against Kilkenny junior side Evergreen.
The SSE Airtricity League’s Premier Division side delivered a late charge which saw them stifle the city side and leave the Kells Road with a solid win.
Drogheda were quick to stamp their authority on the game, taking just eight minutes to go in front. Chris Mulhall broke the deadlock, timing his run to latch on to Conor Kane’s clever pass before slipping the ball past netminder Philly Johnston.
The hosts were stunned by that goal, but recovered well to give Drogheda a fright. Conor English did the damage when he beat Stephen McGuinness on 28 minutes, but his looping shot cannoned off the far post and stayed out.
The home side, beaten finalists in last season’s FAI Junior Cup, continued to look for a way to get back into the game in the second half. Sean Barcoe, Joe Keohane and Chris Whearty posed problems, but they couldn’t find a way through a Drogheda defence well-marshalled by skipper Davy Mulcahy.
With Evergreen pressing for an equaliser, United struck on the counter and doubled their lead with less than 20 minutes to play. Sub Ryan Masterson was barely on the pitch when he chased down a long clearance and, with his first touch, lofted the ball over the advancing Johnston.
Drogheda were in full flight at that stage, and made it 3-0 when Mullally grabbed his second goal nine minutes from time. Johnston did well to parry Masterson’s venomous shot from point-blank range, but could do little to prevent Mullally from gleefully turning the rebound home.
Pete Mahon’s side finished with a flourish and made sure of their place in the second round when sub Mark Doyle powerfully headed home from an Adam Wixted corner four minutes from time.
It was a mixed day for Mulcahy, who started his career with Evergreen, but he was happy to see his new side advance.
“I knew this was going to be a tough game, but we got the result that brings a bit of positivity to this team,” he said. “We knew they’d have their spell, but the thing was to keep it tight in the first half before we got going with a few goals.”
Evergreen: Philly Johnston; Joe Keohane, Niall Andrews, Dylan Whearty, Sammy Johnston; Robbie Quan, Mikey Drennan; Conor English (Peter Henebry, 85 mins), Chris Whearty (Dean Cornally, 88 mins), Ben Hickey (Ciaran Snype, 70 mins); Sean Barcoe.
Drogheda United: Stephen McGuinness; Stephen Dunne, Dave Mulcahy, Shane Elworthy; Conor Kane, Sean Russell (Mark Doyle, 82 mins), Richie Purdy, Jake Hyland (Ryan McEvoy, 79 mins), Adam Wixted; Jack Bayly (Ryan Masterson, 69 mins), Chris Mulhall.
Referee: Jim McKell. Assistants: Michelle O’Neill, Adam Tszampel. Fourth Official: Pat O’Connor.
