It took Shamrock Rovers ten corners and almost an hour to make the breakthrough at the Tallaght Stadium but this Extra.ie FAI Cup second round tie was done and dusted within three second half minutes as Rovers nabbed a quick brace to dash Drogheda’s
It took Shamrock Rovers ten corners and almost an hour to make the breakthrough at the Tallaght Stadium but this Extra.ie FAI Cup second round tie was done and dusted within three second half minutes as Rovers nabbed a quick brace to dash Drogheda’s hopes before romping to a deserved 4-0 win.
First, the busy Graham Burke floated in a delectable cross from the right on 57 minutes and half-time substitute Gary O’Neill directed a stooping header low into the left hand corner of the net.
Before the Co. Louth side could recover from this setback, skipper Jake Hyland was booked for a foul on Jack Byrne. Burke took the resulting 30 yard free kick. Drogheda keeper Luca Gratzer could only parry the ex- Preston man’s effort into the path of Aaron Greene, who confidently swept the rebound to the net.
Aaron McEneff put the issue completely beyond doubt with a composed low right foot finish after being put through by the hugely impressive Byrne in the 73rd minute. Sean Kavanagh wrapped matters up with three minutes remaining, slotting home Aaron Greene’s low cross the right after the latter was sent clear by Ronan Finn.
The Hoops dominated the first half possession stakes but spurned a number of chances although Burke did smash a superb 16th minute shot that cannoned back off into play the Drogheda crossbar.
A well-drilled Drogheda side did contain Rovers very efficiently for long spells but in attack were limited to a few speculative shots (although Chris Lyons and Mark Doyle did bring good saves out of Alan Mannus late on) and a couple of half-hearted penalty shouts.
