BOHEMIANS 0 DROGHEDA UNITED 1
By Daire Walsh
Substitute Dayle Rooney produced the goods at Dalymount Park as his 93rd-minute goal helped Drogheda United to snatch a dramatic victory over 10-man Bohemians in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.
The hosts played with great energy during the early exchanges and opposition net-minder Colin McCabe was forced into a fine save from James Clarke’s firm strike in the eighth-minute. Drugs grew into the game as it progressed with Darragh Markey, Adam Foley and Gary Deegan all having decent opportunities, but the deadlock ultimately remained unbroken at the interval.
McCabe denied Clarke for a second time by tipping over his looping header on the resumption, before the crossbar denied Drogs striker Chris Lyons after Dane Massey had nodded on a Dylan Grimes delivery just past the hour mark. This was a let-off for Bohs, but they suffered a set-back on 70 minutes when skipper Jordan Flores was dismissed for a second yellow-card offence.
Drogs were presented with a glorious chance to push on for victory in north Dublin and just when it looked like a sharing of the spoils was on the cards, Rooney unleashed an unstoppable effort into the bottom right-hand corner of the Bohs net.
BOHEMIANS – Ryan; Doherty, Feely, Kelly, Murphy; Flores, Clarke; Twardek, Mullins (Burt 68), McDaid (McManus 73); Varian (Coote 68).
DROGHEDA UNITED – McCabe; Heeney (Noone 68), Quinn, Cowan, Massey; Deegan, Markey; Foley (Rooney 78), Nugent, Grimes; Lyons (Williams 73).
REF – B Connolly (Dublin).