“Our destiny lies in our own hands” was the rallying call from Drogheda boss Mick Cooke following United’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Dundalk at Hunky Dorys Park on Friday night.
A Mark Griffin double had put the Lillywhites in a commanding lead but a brace from Peter Hynes and a John Sullivan volley spared the Boynesiders blushes to secure all three points.
“Relief is the word. To go two goals down with only 25 minutes played was a disaster and we were feeling worried on the bench. They were two horrific goals to give away. A huge gap was left by the centre-backs for the opener and then Alan Byrne made a poor error with his clearance out on the touchline and there wasn’t sufficient cover in the middle. But while mentioning the criticisms, we must remember the positives. We did very well to recover from the setbacks and once Peter Hynes scored his first goal we were the dominant side for the remainder of the game.”
A sluggish start has been typical of Drogheda’s recent games, conceding early goals to both Shamrock Rovers and Cork City.
“I think a lack of confidence may have been the reason for the poor start. The past few league games we haven’t been playing at our best but for the last hour of the game we were excellent. This is a massive win going into the final seven league games and more importantly it is a performance to build on.”
It was ex-Dundalk player Peter Hynes who dragged The Drogs back into the game with a curling left footed effort on 31 followed by a diving header three minutes from time.
“Peter has been fantastic for us since the day he signed. His first goal tonight came at a vital stage in the game where, had Dundalk scored, it would have been game over. It also gave us self confidence to go forward and with a few words at half time we could regroup and come out much stronger for the second half. As for the equaliser, it was a tremendous stretch for the header and effectively set up the dramatic conclusion to the game.”
A 93rd minute winner from substitute John Sullivan secured the Drogs first home league win over their local rivals since 1998.
“It was a great moment for him I’m sure but John Sullivan is a fantastic player with a lot of ability. In my opinion he wasn’t utilised to his best at Shelbourne. I actually tried to sign him last year but it fell through. He has played in Scotland for several years and now I feel he is getting accustomed to how we play and that goal should spur him on to finish the season strong.”
Another difficult fixture awaits Drogheda next Friday with a trip to play Bray at the Carlisle Grounds, where the Drogs won 4-2 earlier in the season.
“Due to our position in the league each game that comes our way is going to be that bit harder. As you saw tonight, every team we play against will raise their game trying to knock us off. We are still within touching distance of Sligo and if they have any slip ups we must be ready to pounce. If that fails to materialise we want to consolidate our spot in the top three or four in the league and hopefully guarantee European football next season. “
