Sport

First-half mastery sees Drogheda close the gap

National League/Drogheda Utd - 4 Derry City - 0: Drogheda closed the gap on leaders Shelbourne to six points with this comprehensive…

Sat Jul 31 2004 - 01:00

National League/Drogheda Utd - 4 Derry City - 0: Drogheda closed the gap on leaders Shelbourne to six points with this comprehensive victory over Derry City last night.

The home side raced into a three-goal lead at half-time and the only surprise of the second half was that they struck just once.

Drogheda totally dominated the opening 20 minutes of the game and should have had a penalty with 13 minutes on the clock when Andy Myler was upended by Mark McChrystal in the area. Referee Ian Stokes, however, was unimpressed with appeals for a spot-kick.

United took the lead with 23 minutes gone when Gary Cronin found Declan O'Brien on the edge of the box. He held off his marker to lay the ball off to Gavin Whelan who found the net from 12 metres.

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John Flanagan almost increased the lead immediately after when his 25-metre drive skimmed the Derry bar.

Drogheda scored their second with 34 minutes played when Germaine Sandvliet broke down the left, beat three players and passed to Cronin who found Andy Myler and he struck the ball to the net from just inside the penalty box.

Drogheda wrapped up an excellent first half with a third goal, four minutes from the half-time break. Stephen Gray's long ball found O'Brien on the edge of the Derry box and the striker held off a strong challenge from Peter Hutton before knocking the ball past Ciarán Kelly in the visitors' goal.

United's domination continued throughout the second half when Derry were pinned back in their own half for almost the entire 45 minutes.

With 12 minutes gone in the half Drogheda made it four. O'Brien was tripped in the box by Peter Hutton and John Lester converted his third penalty in five days.

The home side then introduced new signing Tony Bird, who almost struck for his debut goal immediately, but Eddy McCallion stopped his goal-bound shot on the line.

Bird then headed home from a corner, but his effort was ruled out for an infringement.

As the game entered its closing stages, Myler knocked the ball off the Derry bar from 20 metres and then turned provider for Bird, who flashed his volley narrowly past the Derry post.

DROGHEDA: Rogers, Flanagan, Sandvliet, O'Connor, Gray, Lester (Freeman, 73 mins), Whelan, Molloy (58 mins), O'Brien (Bird, 58 mins), Myler, Cronin.

DERRY: Kelly, Brennan, Hargan, Hutton (Deery, 63 mins), O'Grady, Beckett, Murphy, McCallion, Gilln (Mullan, 72 mins), McChrystal, Byrne.

Referee: Ian Stokes (Dublin).