St Patrick's Athletic - 3 Drogheda Utd - 1 A delightful free-kick from man of the match Keith Fahy and a brace of goals from Tony Bird turned this game on its head as St Patrick's produced a second-half performance that belied their first-half indifference.
Fahy, again watched by Ireland under-20 manager Gerry Smith, curled home from 20 yards to level the scores on 58 minutes after he had been fouled by Gary Cronin.
Bird then won the game with two opportunist strikes. The lead came on 63 minutes when Bird got into position to blast the ball home after Jimmi Lee Jones got to the end line to cross.
A defensive calamity then gifted Bird his second goal 10 minutes later. Lee Jones' attempted clearance struck defensive partner Padraig Gollogley on the legs to put the striker in to shoot past Gary Rogers.
The St Patrick's revival was all the harder to take for Drogheda, who began the match with a purpose that deservedly brought its reward of the lead on 19 minutes. It wasn't as if Eamonn Collins' side hadn't been warned, as Drogheda carved them open as early as the sixth minute, when Mark Quinless worked a one-two with Neil Tarrant to get in behind the home defence only to shoot wide.
But the elusive Quinless was there again to put some substance to Drogheda's good opening 13 minutes later from a superbly worked free-kick. Don Tierney played the ball to the feet of Andy Myler just inside the area. Myler's quick feet dispatched the ball into the path of Quinless, who wasn't tracked, and the midfielder composed himself before firing low across Chris Adamson and into the far corner of the net.
St Patrick's only gradually got back into the match. Bird was first up to waste an opening when he failed to convert Barry Prenderville's precise cross; his weak header was straight at Rogers.
Paul Osam can usually be relied upon to get on the end of St Patrick's beloved set- piece moves. But the veteran midfielder was guilty of failing to even get a touch as Fahy picked him out superbly from a free-kick.
Paul Donnelly, who volleyed wide, and Bird, who did well to get any contact at all onto another Fahy delivery,spurned chances to get St Patrick's level before the interval.
ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Adamson; Prenderville, Foley, Maguire, El Khebir; Fahy, Donnelly, Osam, Livingstone; Bird, Jones (Dunne 81 mins).
DROGHEDA UNITED: Rogers; Bunce, Gollogley, Jones, Cronin; O'Connor, Tierney (Lynch 84 mins), Quinless (Delaney 78 mins), Beesley; Tarrant, Myler.
Referee: E Barr (Dublin)
