FAI Cup final
Drogheda United 2
Derry City 0
DROGHEDA UNITED SEIZED their moment and FAI Cup glory with a performance of grit and guile.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but absolutely everything about this triumph was glorious.
Andrew Quinn and Douglas James Taylor scored the two goals that will be etched in the history books of a club that have now lifted this trophy for just the second time.
Not just that, European football beckons.
Derry City were left crestfallen by the end, a fittingly abject end to a campaign of heartache and despair.
Their players sunk to their knees at full time as their opponents rejoiced. Drogheda boss Kevin Doherty seemed to stand stunned for a moment when the last whistle blew. But he was soon lifted into the air by a member of his coaching staff.
This day will lift the spirits of everyone in Drogheda, an underdog story that was not just about pilfering a result but grabbing it with two hands and refusing to let it go.
They still have a relegation-promotion play-off to come against Bray Wanderers next weekend so this is no grand finale, but it is a magic moment in so many lives.
Everywhere around the pitch there was defiance and quality from the club that are still part-time.
Dave Webster, 17 years of service in the League of Ireland finally has a winners’ medal as he prepares to bow out of the game. What a way to go. In front of him, the midfield trio of Ryan Brennan, Darragh Markey and Shane Farrell performed with energy, commitment and complete control.
Conor Kane on the left won the penalty for the second goal and Elicha Ahui on the right was man of the match.
The two up top, Frantz Pierrot and James Taylor, were tormentors and pace setters.
Derry just couldn’t keep up and it felt like they didn’t want to at times. The pattern of the game was evident from the fifth minute, an early little indication of the threat the Drogheda front two would pose when James Taylor won a flick on for Pierrot.
He couldn’t get the ball under control to set himself for a shot in the box and that gave the covering Connolly just enough time to snuff out the danger.
More of the same would come before Drogheda eventually punished them.
Derry were content to allow their opponents use the ball around the back and for Brennan to drop out of midfield. There was no sense of urgency to be on front foot high up the pitch and that attitude seeped into other aspects of play.
Rather than try and force mistakes they allowed the underdogs to get comfortable.
For the large part in that first half there was no threat in behind or any real incisiveness to try and utilise Michael Duffy down the left or Paul McMullan on the right.
Drogheda’s three centre backs were disciplined and organised, the spaces between Quinn, Webster and James Bolger from right to left meticulously adhered to.
Derry top scorer Patrick Hoban still wasn’t available due to injury – he had to make do with a place on the bench – and their best chance of the half on 27 minutes was one he has made a career out of converting.
It was the one and only time Derry penetrated behind, Ronan Boyce’s pass allowing McMullan to cross from the right. He had two attempts after the first was cleared and the second was met by the frontman in the middle of the goal six yards out.
He did have to manoeuvre his body to connect with a side flick but there wasn’t enough pace to beat Luke Dennison who gathered comfortably.
Sadou Diallo found a half-yard of space in the box four minutes later after neat interplay with Patrick McEleney but, again, the effort was tame.
The Candystripes’ captain was doing his best to increase the tempo but his teammates seemed more comfortable waiting for something to happen.
Then it did.
Drogheda had targeted balls to the back post in a couple of earlier set-pieces and the one that delivered the opening goal came on 37 minutes.
It owed everything to what happens when one team does the fundamentals right and another gets it wrong.
The free kick was won on the right when Pierrot offered an out ball by showing to feet. His touch was good and the clumsiness of Diallo’s high tackle was foolish.
Farrell’s delivery was once again pin-point, not just floated harmlessly into an area but with purpose.
Connolly was bunched in with the rest of his defenders on the edge and didn’t react quick enough to Quinn’s simply backtrack movement.
From that point on he had a clear run and view of what was coming and his side foot finish low and hard was executed superbly.
He was right in front of the delirious Drogheda fans and as he was swarmed by teammates in celebration flares were lit and the sky lit up with a burst of flame and then smoke.
Derry were in a daze and their captain was left in one moments later after a clash of heads with Brennan that eventually forced McEleney off with concussion.
The Drogheda skipper also suffered, his nostrils stuffed with cotton plugs to soak up the blood and a bandage wrapped around his head.
What followed was a stirring performance from the hometown hero and the rest of those in claret and blue.
Markey covered enough ground around the pitch to take him the distance back to where he is from in Lucan. Not just that, he used the ball with composure, provided relief with spurts of sprints that took his side up the pitch.
It was impossible, too, not to feel a great sense of joy for Farrell and admiration with how he also drove Drogheda on in the middle.
He had a tortuous time in the 2022 final for Shelbourne against these same opponents and was hooked at half time.
There were tears of a different kind here and from the moment Drogheda made it 2-0 from the spot on 58 minutes there was also a feeling of destiny.
But this was destiny earned and taken.
The build up to the award of the penalty another example of positivity paying off. Left back Conor Kane’s touch and drive away from Colm Whelan – just on the pitch as a sub – took him to the edge of the area.
Boyce took him down and while some contact may have been just outside he also seemed close enough to the line for the award to be justified.
James Taylor stuttered every so slightly with his run up but the finish was crisp, low to Maher’s left and in.
To sum up that sense of destiny, a corner for Derry on 70 minutes caused havoc in the six yard box only for the ball to loop directly out of the sky and into the arms of Dennison who cradled it like a newborn baby.
Jacob Davenport flashed a header wide from close range in injury time but Derry had no answer to what Drogheda put up to them.
And then it was for the men in claret and blue to walk the steps and lift the Cup.
Drogheda United: Luke Dennison; Andrew Quinn, David Webster, James Bolger; Elicha Ahui, Ryan Brennan (captain) (Gary Deegan 90+2), Shane Farrell (Luke Heeney 73), Darragh Markey, Conor Kane; Douglas James Taylor, Frantz Pierrot (Adam Foley 68).
Derry City: Brian Maher; Ronan Boyce (Patrick Hoban 65), Shane McEleney, Mark Connolly, Andre Wisdom (Jacob Davenport 82); Paul McMullan (Sean Robertson 57), Sadou Diallo, Patrick McEleney (captain) (Will Patching 45+4), Adam O’Reilly, Michael Duffy; Danny Mullen (Colm Whelan 57).
Referee: Rob Harvey.
Attendance: 38, 723
Great win for Drogs and superb support. Derry were very poor and look like a team going nowhere. Great to see nearly 40k at a game that didn’t have a Dublin team involved.
@Brian M: Agreed and very well done to Drogheda united a superb result for the club and people of a small footballing town with limited resources. Fantastic to see
@robert kelly: Their fans have been right behind the team all year. Very happy for them.
Absolutely brilliant result. Drogheda were by far the best team on the day and deserved to win. Wekl done Kevin and all the lads!!!
Well done drogs from a bohs fan. Great ending to a bad season and another big cup final to come.
It wasn’t that much of a shock in fairness
The lack of confidence was evident in the Derry team. It’s hard to take as many heavy blows as they did in the league run in and get themselves up again. I know it was a cup final, but the fallout from the capitulation in the league took It’s toll. Well done to Drogheda, obviously they brought the best confidence into the game and it showed.
@Paul Linehan: I would say there was a clear lack of leadership and character on show in that Derry side today. Drogs finished second from bottom so not exactly riding on the crest of a wave. A group of players without any big names and being paid a fraction of their opponents gave it their all and came with the right attitude. Should be a lesson in there for owners throwing cash around trying to win trophies.
Delighted for Derry after the showing they gave in final league game, they didn’t even try as they thought they would win and get Europe from cup, kinda looks silly now not going for a win in last game of season, and old Higgins how embarrassing for you, everyone is delighted drogs won, it’s not just dublin clubs people like to see winning, sack him useless manager
Great to see Drogheda beating Derry. Derry followers should leave their flags and flares at home.
Well done, The Drogs, but they shouldn’t be labelled underdogs after the way they’ve performed in the 2nd half of the season. The form of the 2 teams over the last 15 games of the season was more or less the same – Drogheda collected 18 points and Derry 20 points. The fact that Derry only collected 20 out of 45 points and were still in the title chase up to the 2nd last game indicates that their form fell off badly in the 2nd half of the season. The Drogs on the other hand collected 18 out of 45 as opposed to 16 out 54 in the 1st half of the season (Derry 35/54), so were hitting form at the right time.
Hope they complete the job next weekend.