Drogheda boss Kevin Doherty open about double whammy on worst day of his career
Drogheda United manager Kevin Doherty has opened up about the double devastation he and his players suffered on the worst day of his managerial career.
In a double whammy, Drogheda were first thrown out of Europe and then secondly were penalised for a mystery handball which resulted in their 1-0 lead against Shamrock Rovers being wiped out. They eventually lost 2-1.
On the free kick issue, a frustrated Doherty said: 'I thought we deserved something out of the game. I thought we were excellent. I thought it was taken away from us. I have to be very careful, I was advised not to say some things I wanted to say.
Read more: 'Sick' and 'devastated' feeling for Drogheda United boss as CAS delivers verdict on challenge to UEFA ban
'It's mental. I don't know how many away fans there were in the ground tonight, 650? I didn't hear one Rovers supporter looking for a free kick. It absolutely kills you.
'You are playing the best team in the country by a mile, you are coming out playing like that and after the day we've had and having such pride and balls and everything our lads had, for that to happen, I have to be very careful. I don't want to get personal or individual, but anyone with a pair of eyes that's working can see what's happened tonight.'
And then there is the even bigger issue of the club being thrown out of Europe because of UEFA's multi-ownership rules.
Danish club, Silkeborg, are also owned by Drogheda's Trivela Group. They too qualified for the Europa Conference League - meaning Drogheda have been forced to withdraw from the competition.
Doherty said: 'I was confident, very confident we would win our case. Yeah, we're heartbroken. We've had tough times over the years here for different reasons.
'Everything around the club on the pitch is on the up. The CAS decision doesn't change that. Look, have a look around tonight, how positive that is. But it was certainly something that I had to dig deep myself today, to go into the dressing room and try and motivate lads to play a football match.
'It is a tough day.
'We are certainly going for Europe again next year.
'It is something you want to do. You want to progress year on year. We have progressed this year without going mad in terms of our spending. We have not gone out and spent mad money.
"We have gone about it the right way. We have not gone mental with our spending. The calibre of player we have brought in are guys who are hungry. They are lads who want to come here and do well. You have to work hard because we don't have what they have which is …. Our players have hunger. We trust them to work for us. But this hurts, this decision (to kick us out of Europe).'
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The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty tells story to explain his shock at Euro expulsion
KEVIN DOHERTY revealed he was so sure Drogheda United would be given the all-clear in Conference League that he did give Silkeborg's Euro qualification no moment's thought. The Drogs are Advertisement Investors Trivela own both Drogheda and Silkeborg, but the Danes are allowed into the Conference League instead as they finished higher in their league table. Drogheda appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration in Sport who ruled in favour of UEFA on Monday which exhausted the Drogs' chances of a reprieve. 2 Drogheda United manager Kevin Doherty talks to media about his club's CAS appeal after Monday night's 2-1 loss to Shamrock Rovers And stunned Drogheda United manager Doherty admitted that he never, ever thought that the decision would go against his side. He said: 'I may as well be honest. I was so confident I was in the airport (during the summer break). Advertisement Read More On Football 'I was looking at the result from Silkeborg and I thought 'Fair play to them' when they won (a Euro play-off). 'That's how…I was so confident and obviously the club were too. 'On Friday night, I wasn't bulls****ing you. Everything I said on Friday still applies today based on the information I had. 'I said that about 100 times. I was confident, very confident. We're heartbroken.' Advertisement Most read in Football Live Blog Exclusive Breaking Doherty said it is for the club to discuss whether there were financial implications - European football would have meant a guaranteed €525,000 in prize money. 2 Kevin Doherty led Drogheda United to FAI Cup glory last season But he praised his players for how they performed in last night's 2-1 loss to Shamrock Rovers as proving they can qualify for Europe again this season. He said: 'Everything around the club on the pitch is on the up. CAS doesn't change that. Look, have a look around, how positive that is. Advertisement 'But it was certainly something that I had to dig deep myself, to go into dressing room and try and motivate lads to play a football match.' That Drogheda lost infuriated Doherty who believes that Shamrock Rovers' equaliser by Graham Burke came from a free kick that should never have been given. He said: 'I know managers sometimes do this to deflect. It's mental. I don't know how many away fans there is, 650? I didn't hear one Rovers supporter looking for a free kick. 'It absolutely kills you. You are playing the best team in the country by a mile, you are coming out playing like that and after the day we've had. Advertisement 'I thought we deserved something out of the game.' Doherty also highlighted that his squad is stretched at the moment with last night's game being the second of a run of five matches in 15 days. And he pointed out that the Shamrock Rovers game was brought forward because both sides are meant to be in Europe next month. He said: 'I am just sick. The ironic thing is the reason we're playing this game is (Europe). We've five games in 14 days and we're picking up knocks and we're picking up injuries. Advertisement 'The only reason we're playing this game now (is Europe, and we've) one league game in July.'
RTÉ News
7 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'The result was taken away from us' - Pride, shock and anger all present for Drogheda boss Kevin Doherty
Pride, shock and anger were the three emotions seeping out of Drogheda United boss Kevin Doherty on a difficult day on and off the pitch for the Louth club. Shock at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that ended their European ambitions, pride at how his players responded to that devastating blow hours before kick-off to take the lead against Shamrock Rovers and his anger at the free-kick call that led to the away side levelling things up just before the break before Aaron Greene secured a 2-1 win in the second half. The contentious decision came when Andy Quinn was penalised for an apparent handball spotted by assistant referee Emmett Dynan – Graham Burke driving the set-piece low to the corner – and Doherty admitted that he had to temper his true thoughts on the decision when speaking to the media. "You're playing the best team in the country by a mile, you're coming out and playing like that after the day that we've had, such pride and b*lls and everything that our lads had and for that to happen," he told RTÉ Sport's John Kenny. "I have to be very careful, I don't want to go personal or individual about this, anybody with a pair of eyes that are working could see what happened here tonight." "That result was taken away from us tonight, let the whole country and social media and everyone else look at it because they will be the judge, jury and executioner for these things that happen because nothing else seems to happen in these games," he later added. There was only one topic at Sullivan and Lambe Park pre-match and that was CAS denying the club a spot in Tuesday's UEFA Conference League draw due to their multi-club-ownership rules. Last Friday, Doherty had spoken of his confidence that the decision would go their way, so he was startled when news filtered through that they had lost their case as he made his way to the game. "I wasn't bull****ing, everything I said on Friday still applies today, every single word I said in that interview on Friday still applies today. "There's no doubt it's disappointing...a tough day, yeah." DROGHEDA OUT OF EUROPE AFTER CAS RULING Even with Monday's double blow, Doherty promised that Drogheda's story wouldn't be written in the boardroom and a tightknit group would rebound. "One thing you can certainly say is we're going for Europe again next year. You can see that it's something we want to push on. "It's something you want to do, you want to progress year on year and I think the jump we've made this year without going mad as well, it's evident that we haven't been going mad. We haven't gone out and brought in ten lads. "We've done it the right way, we've done it with the players that it means so much (too). "The calibre of player coming into us, hungry and they want to play, want to win."
Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘The result was taken away from us. After the day we've had, it's an absolute joke' – Kevin Doherty fumes at officials
Kevin Doherty vented his frustration at the match officials after Drogheda's European heartbreak was compounded by a controversial defeat to Shamrock Rovers.
