Soccer

Irish clubs excel on memorable night

Round-up:  Drogheda United and Derry City scored memorable European victories tonight, both securing their passage through to…

Thu Jul 27 2006 - 01:00

Round-up:  Drogheda United and Derry City scored memorable European victories tonight, both securing their passage through to the second qualifying round of the Uefa Cup in fine style.

Drogheda had to come from behind at Dalymount Park to see their way past Finnish side HJK Helsinki with Damien Lynch scoring two crucial penalties in both periods of extra-time.

Algerian striker Farid Gazi had put the visitors ahead with a close range strike after 35 minutes but Drogheda defender Graham Gartland equalised ten minutes into the second half to force the tie into extra-time on a 2-2 aggregate scoreline.

But Lynch bagged a leading goal - against 10-man Helsinki - from the penalty spot seven minutes into the first period of extra-time.

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Shane Barrett was then brought down in the box early in the second period and Lynch maintained his composure, powering his shot down the middle to cap a remarkable night for manager Paul Doolin's side.

Derry pulled off a big shock as they completed an impressive win over IFK Gothenburg at the Brandywell.

A Stephen O'Flynn penalty was enough to give City a 1-0 win on the night and complete a 2-0 win over the two legs.

Derry were expecting the Swedes to come out all guns blazing but instead the visitors opted for a more patient approach and it was the home side which saw more of the ball early on.

But the Swedes' slow approach began to pay dividends as they pushed Derry further back and from a 20th-minute corner from Niclas Alexandersson they were fortunate to survive when keeper David Forde flapped and was grateful to see skipper Peter Hutton hammer to safety.

But Gothenburg were unable to build on that spell of pressure and Derry began creating chances of their own again, not least when Hutton was only inches away from Kevin Deery's right-wing cross in the 31st minute.

And that pressure paid off when George Mourad handled a Deery corner in the 31st minute and O'Flynn kept his cool to put his spot kick just inside the upright.

Results
Derry City 1-0 IFK Gothenburg (Agg: 2-0)
Drogheda Utd 3-1 HJK Helsinki (Agg:  4-2)