Josh Thomas strikes late as Drogheda win at Dalymount Park
Just when it looked like the game was heading for a draw, Drogheda won it as a sumptuous through ball by Conor Keeley straight down the middle picked out Thomas in the 86th minute who then outstripped the home defence and coolly put the ball past Kacper Chorazka.
Drogheda had only played a single match in the last month before the visit to Dalymount, disposing of Crumlin United in the FAI Cup, having lost out in a place in the UEFA Conference league due to a club ownership conflict.
Drogheda had been kicking their heels as a result and had a mid-season training camp in Spain to keep their players ticking over.
However, they came back to action with a late smash and grab to severely dent Bohemians' title ambitions, as they remain seven points behind leaders Shamrock Rovers and now having played a game more than the Hoops who can go 10 points clear if they beat Derry City on Sunday evening.
Crunching tackles and fouls littered the opening period as second faced fourth with Bohs four points ahead of the visitors prior to kick-off, but there were chances.
Straight from the kick-off Drogheda lost possession and Dayle Rooney, inside his own half, spotted United keeper Luke Dennison off his line and his audacious effort didn't miss by much.
Moments later Bohs right-back Ross Tierney was caught in possession by Dare Kareem, but Kacper Chorazka saved Kareem's effort on the edge of his six-yard box.
Kareem was brought into the club in the off-season as an Under-20s player but injures, and the departure of Douglas James-Taylor to Bohemians, has seen the 19-year-old elevated to the senior squad.
On the quarter hour, a ball from Bohs captain Dawson Devoy outfoxed the visitors defence and picked out Tierney all alone in the area. He looked certain to score only for Dennison to pull off a brilliant point-blank save with his leg to keep the game scoreless.
A poor headed clearance from Conor Kane then fell for Drogheda centre-half Conor Keeley who turned and shot from the edge of the area, with his dipping effort just clearing the Bohs crossbar.
The helter-skelter nature of the game continued after the break as both sides looked for the breakthrough goal, but a combination of poor finishing and last-ditch tackles kept the game scoreless.
Jordan Flores' shot from the edge of the area came though a ruck of players and Dennison did well to get down late to save just after the hour mark.
On 73 minutes, Connor Parsons delivered a cross to pick out Tierney at the back post who smashed his shot into the side netting, with many of the home support thinking it had hit the back of the net, which garnered much derision from the away supporters.
Just when the game appeared to be heading for a scoreless draw, Thomas was the coolest player on the pitch, taking his time when one on one with the keeper to slot home the cheekiest of winners for Drogheda with 86 minutes on the clock.
Bohemian FC: Kacper Chorazka; Niall Morahan, Cian Byrne (Keith Buckley 71), Rob Cornwall (Markuss Strods 90), Jordan Flores; Connor Parsons (Rhys Brennan 81), Dawson Devoy, Ross Tierney, Dayle Rooney; Colm Whelan (Adam McDonnell 81), James Clarke.
Drogheda United: Luke Dennison; Andrew Quinn, Conor Keely, James Bolger (John O'Sullivan 87); Owen Lambe, Luke Heaney (Shane Farrell 77), Ryan Brennan (George Cooper 87), Daragh Markey, Conor Kane; Dare Kareem (Joshua Thomas 63), Thomas Oluwa (Warren Davis 63).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
2 hours ago
- The 42
Shelbourne set for €3.8 million European tie
SHELBOURNE ARE set for one of their biggest games of the season on Wednesday evening. The Dublin side face reigning Croatian champions HNK Rijeka (kick-off: 7.45pm — live on Solid Sport), who are at home for the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round clash. Winning the tie would guarantee a minimum of €3.8 million in prize money, and at worst, a place in the league phase of the Uefa Conference League. But Shels manager, Joey O'Brien, believes their opponents are favourites to progress to the play-off round to play either Greek side PAOK or Wolfsberger of Austria. 'It's going to be a really difficult game, but it's a game we can't wait for, we're really looking forward to,' O'Brien says. While a draw would be perceived as a positive result for the Irish side ahead of next week's home leg in Tolka, O'Brien insists his team will aim to win on the night and not be tempted to adopt an overly defensive approach. 'If you have a game plan of just sitting in and trying to survive for 90 minutes, I don't think it works like that,' he adds. Hot and humid conditions are expected at the Stadion Rujevica, which has a capacity of just over 8,000. Advertisement Shelbourne will be without defender Tyreke Wilson and ex-Arsenal youngster Jack Henry-Francis, though goalkeeper Conor Kearns could return quicker than expected from a hamstring injury, while Milan Mbeng and Sean Moore, recently signed from Cork City and West Ham respectively, are both available. The Croatian side's squad contains several international players, and O'Brien believes they were 'unlucky' to get knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers and looked 'the better team' over two legs. After a 0-0 draw at home, they lost 3-1 after extra time to the Bulgarian side, Ludogorets, with the 77th and 98th minute dismissals of former Croatia underage internationals Gabriel Rukavina and Toni Fruk significant factors in the defeat. Rijeka, who won the double last season, are just one game into their domestic campaign — two stoppage-time goals saw them beat Slaven Belupo 2-0 on Sunday. By contrast, Shels have played 26 Premier Division matches this year, but O'Brien played down any suggestion that they would have the edge in terms of match sharpness. 'When you get to a certain level of player, and this is a certain level of team, this is one of those teams where there are obviously professionals. I think people from the outside really make a big thing of that. 'Just from my own experience of playing, when you're playing at a high level, you're a professional 24 hours a day, every day of the year. I think from that point of view, the days are gone where in the off-season, lads used to go out on the batter and put on bleedin' half a stone and then burn it off in pre-season. That's not the case anymore. Especially when you get to this level, these are serious teams and serious players.' O'Brien hopes lessons will have been learned from Shels' Champions League exit at the hands of Qarabag last month. In the first leg, especially, individual errors proved costly, with the Azerbaijan outfit going 3-0 up to effectively end the tie, while the 1-0 away defeat was also far from satisfactory. 'When you have your opportunity on the ball, you've got to keep the football. That was probably one thing last week against Qarabag in the first half, especially, we were guilty of too many easy, cheap turnovers, and we gave away possession. Against this calibre of opposition, you keep on turning over the ball, they're going to just pin you in.' Joey O'Brien has urged his side to "attack" the game. Evan Logan / INPHO Evan Logan / INPHO / INPHO Defeat over two legs would send the reigning Premier Division champions into a Uefa Conference League qualifying play-off. They would face either the Faroese side Vikingur or NIFL Premiership outfit Linfield, whom they have already defeated 2-1 on aggregate in the first round of the Champions League qualifiers. But O'Brien says his squad have given no thought to this potential outcome, with the focus firmly on Rijeka. 'I don't really care what people outside the dressing room think. My focus is on what I can control, and I'd like to think I can have some control over the dressing room. 'I just feel as a player, [you're in trouble if] you start letting yourself think like that and 'maybe this might happen and we get these again'. 'You want to go out and challenge yourself, and you want to attack what's in front of you. I think you're at your best when you don't have that safety net, or you think it's okay to lose, or: 'It's okay if you get beat here, it's not too bad.' That's not how you play football. That's not how I am as a person.'
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Bohemians enjoy away win in Waterford to move sixth
Bohemians moved into the top half of the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division thanks to a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Waterford. Leiagh Glennon handed the visitors the perfect start at the RSC thanks to a fifth-minute opener from close range, and the Dublin club asserted their dominance with a second midway through the first half. Katie McCarn's welll-taken goal at the near post handed Bohs a 2-0 lead at the break, and Waterford were unable to work their way back into the game in the second half. And it was the travelling side who had the final say as Sarah McKevitt added a third with a well-hit strike in the 77th minute to seal the victory. Bohs moved into sixth place thanks to the win and go ahead of Treaty United on goal difference, and now sit 11 points off leaders Shelbourne. — Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) August 5, 2025
Irish Independent
12 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty wary of Waterford FC qualities
The Blues lie seven points clear of second-bottom Sligo Rovers and trail fourth-placed Drogheda by eight, but Doherty doesn't accept that they'll journey up the M1 with nothing to pride to play for. Speaking on Tuesday, he said: 'There's 10 games left and still 30 points to play for and a couple of wins and they're right there (in the battle for European places), particularly when they're playing us. It's a bit early to be talking about having nothing to play for, it really is, so I think they're very much alive. 'I watched their game at the weekend (against St Pat's) and they had a really, really strong performance, and a really good result in Galway the week before. Who else has gone down there and scored four goals? 'They will bring a lot of challenges. Everyone talks about Padraig Amond and Tommy Lonergan up front, but they've got Conan Noonan in behind as well and they brought in (Jordan) Rossiter. Andy Boyle will be coming back as well, so they'll have their strongest backline available, and they've a very experienced manager who knows how to get results. 'Every game in this league is so, so difficult, but we're going into Friday confident after winning three in a row and playing well. 'I could not have been happier with the performance on Friday (against Bohemians) and I think it was very, very evident what we were doing on that training camp in Spain the week before.' 'The big thing for me is the availability of players, which is a massive difference compared to a month ago. Paul Doyle did his first full training session yesterday, so it's only Elicha Ahui, Zishim Bawa and Scott Brady who aren't available now.' Warren Davis and Darragh Markey scored the goals in a 2-0 win the last time Waterford visited Drogheda, but in the reverse fixture in the RSC it took a stoppage-time strike from Conor Keeley to rescue a 2-2 draw.
