Drogheda United are relieved to book the final date for the FAI Cup after a huge scare against Wexford

WEXFORD 2

HISTORY shows that Drogheda United have never made things easy for themselves in the FAI Cup semi-final and they almost fell to unfancied Wexford at a sell-out Weavers Park on Sunday.

It is eleven years to the day since they reached the 2013 final with a fortunate 1-0 win over nine-man Dundalk. The in-form Boynesiders put in one of their worst performances of the season, but super substitute Adam Foley scored twice to get them over the line and now look forward to a final showdown with Derry City at the Aviva Stadium on November 10th.

Referee Damien MacGraith’s whistle was greeted with a mixture of joy and relief as with 6/1 shots Wexford were close to causing a major upset and James Keddy’s charges can certainly hold their heads high even in defeat.

Physically, the First Division promotion candidates were the equal of their top flight opponents, but they showed they could play just as well and were the boss in the first 15 minutes, in which Mikie Rowe tested goalkeeper Luke Dennison from distance, Sean McHale shot past the goal and Thomas Oluwa missed the goal with a diving header just wide of the goal.

Dennison’s call for attention over an injury gave Kevin Doherty the opportunity for an impromptu team talk on the sidelines, but the Drogheda coach was soon faced with another headache as joint top scorer Frantz Pierrot had to be sent off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury from Foley’s fall into the fray.

Drogheda improved thereafter when Brennan went close with a header from a Shane Farrell corner, forcing Wexford keeper Conor Walsh into a neat stop after a similar attempt, this time with Conor Kane assisting.

But just as the home fans were beginning to expect a lead, the other side made a breakthrough in the 42nd minute.

Oluwa exchanged passes with Kian Corbally and hit a cross at the near post, Rowe’s first-time shot was parried by Dennison and Aaron Dobbs was perfectly positioned to grab the rebound from just under a meter away.

Ryan Brennan had a chance to restore parity in first-half injury time but he fired his free-kick towards two spectators watching the game from a rooftop in nearby Anneville Crescent and that summed up Drogheda’s performance. In fact, McHale could have made it 2-0 when he headed over the crossbar in the final seconds of the half after a needlessly conceded corner kick.

No doubt the Drogheda players got Alex Ferguson’s hair dryer treatment at half-time and Doherty’s words clearly had an immediate impact as Elicha Ahui made a bone-chilling but fair tackle on Oluwa. Poor communication between Wexford defender Cian O’Malley and his goalkeeper Walsh led to an attack in which Brennan deflected a shot wide of goal and Kane fired the resulting corner over the crossbar.

By this point Luke Heeney had replaced Farrell and a slip by Wexford substitute Ethan Boyle under pressure from Heeney led to a Drogheda breakout in which Douglas James-Taylor saw his effort blocked by Lewis Temple.

The home team didn’t exactly thrash their opponents, but they were certainly on top and finally equalized in the 65th minute.

Ahui played the ball up to James-Taylor and he released Kane, whose angled cross reached Andrew Quinn. The defender’s attempted volley went wide, but Foley was perfectly positioned in the six-yard box to guide the ball past Walsh.

The substitute had another chance in the 71st minute after being substituted by James-Taylor, but his header lacked power and Walsh made an easy save.

However, Drogheda remained patient and looked to be taking a big step towards the final when they went ahead in the 77th minute and James-Taylor placed a header past Walsh from a corner kick from Darragh Markey.

Any neutral watching this game would have been licking their lips in anticipation when Wexford restored the remarkable level to make it 2-2 barely two minutes later.

McHale passed the ball down the left sideline for Oluwa and got behind Quinn before driving the ball beyond the six-yard area. Dobbs and James Bolger both slid towards the ball at the same time and he appeared to take a touchdown off the Wexford striker’s backside before ending up in the net.

Wexford came into action again and almost scored the decisive goal in the 84th minute. Once again Oluwa was the instigator, this time battling his way past Ahui and although Drogheda managed to clear the initial threat, the ball went to Corbally, who slalomed past two attempted tackles before his shot was blocked by Dennison.

At the other end, Heeney and James-Taylor combined to meet Foley, who did a really good job of creating a meter of space before his shot was blocked by a defender.

James-Taylor was in the thick of the action at this point and was involved in the next attacking move three times before finally seeing his shot deflected in from behind.

Finally, in the second minute of stoppage time and just before extra time, the Drogs broke Wexford’s hearts by scoring the winner. Foley fired a volley into the goal from close range after intercepting Bolger’s shot from a throw-in from Ahui.

DROGHEDA: Luke Dennison 7; Andrew Quinn 6, David Webster 6, James Bolger 6; Elicha Ahui 7, Ryan Brennan 7, Shane Farrell 6 (Luke Heeney 58, 6), Conor Kane 7; Darragh Markey 6; Frantz Pierrot 6 (Adam Foley 31, 8), Douglas James-Taylor 7. Subs not used: Aaron Harper-Bailey, Gary Deegan, Aaron McNally, Warren Davis, Bridel Bosakani, Killian Cailloce, Andrew Wogan.

WEXFORD: Conor Walsh 7; Divin Isamala 8, Cian O’Malley 8, Lewis Temple 8, Sean McHale 8 (James Crawford 90 +4); Luka Lovic 7 (Cian Curtis 75, 6), Darragh Levingston 8, Kian Corbally 8; Mikie Rowe 7 (Ethan Boyle 55, 6), Aaron Dobbs 8 (Kaylem Harnett 90 +4), Thomas Oluwa 8. Subs not used: Ben Lynch, Adam Lennon, Reece Webb, Conor Crowley, Alex Moody.

ATTENDANCE: 2,543