Drogheda United 0 Dundalk 6
Dundalk hammered 10-man Drogheda United at United Park on Friday night as Stephen Kenny’s side eased to their biggest league win of the season on a 6-0 scoreline.
The hosts were somewhat unlucky to go a man down midway through the first half when Thomas Byrne went in late on Brian Gannon and referee Derek Tomney brandished a red card.
That seemed to be the catalyst for Dundalk’s dominance as just six minutes later they hit the front. Lilywhites’ captain Stephen O’Donnell hit a low shot from 30 yards out which keeper Stephen McGuinness parried and David McMillan reacted quickest to score.
The visitors then doubled their lead when a Dane Massey shot was blocked into the path of Niclas Vemmelund who deftly chipped the ball to the back post where McMillan was on hand to score his second.
Arguably the best of the game came just on half-time when Patrick McEleney, from 25-yards out, spotted Coulter off his line, and with the outside of his left he swerved a shot into the top right hand corner.
Drogheda looked stretched and the introduction of Sean Thornton at half-time didn’t have the desired effect. Twice Dundalk cut them open inside the first five minutes before eventually they got their fourth.
Michael Duffy cut through the middle and played a neat one-two with Thomas Stewart before volleying home from six yards.
Having only been introduced 10 minutes previous Ciaran Kilduff grabbed a quick-fire brace in the final five minutes. The first saw him finish a Gartland cross before breaching the Drogheda defence and finishing low to the bottom corner to make it 6-0 and leave Drogheda just outside the relegation zone.
DROGHEDA UNITED: McGuinness, Deasy, Gallagher, McGuigan, Dunne, McEvoy, Killian Brennan (Thornton HT), Sean Brennan (Doyle 89), Wixted, Byrne, Masterson (Elliot 73).
Subs Not Used: Coulter, Griffin, Kane, Purdy.
DUNDALK: Rogers Gannon, Gartland, Vemmelund, Massey, O'Donnell, Benson (Shields 76), Duffy (McGrath 62), McMillan (Kilduff 73), McEleney, Stewart.
Subs Not Used: Sava, Barrett , Hoare, Clifford.
Referee: Derek Tomney (Dublin).
