A bit of positive coverage on what was a brilliant night of football, but when the Dubiln sporting public can only turn out under 5,000 to see a team of this calibre, there is no hope, far too many idiots would rather give Rovers 35 quid for a friendly against Sunderland
Clinical Aliyev kills off brave Drogheda
Drogheda United 1 Dynamo Kiev 2
By Daniel McDonnell
Wednesday July 30 2008
IT’S a cruel game sometimes. This may have been a fair result on the balance of play, but Drogheda United did not deserve to lose like this.
They were four minutes from securing an honourable first-leg draw as the punters at Dalymount Park, the home of Irish football, were treated to an absorbing European encounter, a classic case of the underdog punching above their weight against stronger opposition.
However, they were denied the draw by Oleksandr Aliyev’s low drive which eluded Jamie Ewings at his near post – a heartbreaking moment for the Drogheda keeper who had produced a string of top-class second-half stops to retain parity.
They will go to Kiev next week facing almost certain elimination from the Champions League, but considering their erratic form at domestic level this year, their performances in Europe have restored their reputation and given Irish football something positive to think about.
Pressure
Following their dismal performance in the Champions League group stages last year, where they failed to take a point from six outings, Russian coach Yuri Semin is under serious pressure to deliver. That’s why there was no messing in his team selection, with the same side that scored a 3-1 success over Dnipro at the weekend sent into battle here.
Drogheda, unchanged from the team which secured their passage to last night’s contest with success in Tallinn last Wednesday, learned within seconds that this was an entirely different proposition. The slickness of Kiev’s passing was immediately apparent, and they should have been ahead in the third minute when Artem Milevsky – twice on the target against Dnipro – was woefully off the mark after an incisive series of Ukrainian passes.
However, for all Kiev’s attacking prowess, they looked less assured when ruffled at the back, where their comfort on the ball veered into casualness.
On 10 minutes, such tardiness had the large Dalymount Park crowd on their feet when Ollie Cahill intercepted before going on a direct run which culminated with a daisy cutter that Oleksandr Shovkovsky did well to push around the post. For a wonderful 60 seconds or so, Drogheda followers began to dream.
Alas, reality bit hard when Kiev took the game by the scruff of the neck and duly captured a deserved advantage in the 23rd minute.
As a portent of what was to come later, it was harsh. Ewings had blocked bravely from Milevsky and 8m man Ognjen Vukojevic before his mistake led to the deadlock being broken.
The Scot raced from his line to deal unconvincingly with an Aliyev free kick, only pushing the ball into the direction of visiting centre-half Taras Mykhalyk, who kept his composure to slot the ball home.
It was looking ominous, but Drogheda committed bodies forward where possible, forcing a penalty shout when a Fahrudin Kuduzovic cross appeared to have been blocked, in part, by the hand of Andrii Nesmachny.
Yet there was little time for Drogheda to dwell on such incidents, as any loss of concentration invariably resulted in a Kiev opening with Milevsky again wasteful when finding space for a shot before the interval.
At that juncture, the Ukrainians would doubtless have been of the opinion that they could afford such profligacy, but they hadn’t banked on Drogheda’s new-found habit of bursting out of the second-half blocks with purpose.
Graham Gartland’s winner against Tallinn last week came in the 47th minute and it was at the same point they scored again, with Adam Hughes meeting a Kuduzovic cross to find the back of the net with a combination of his head, the angle of the post and the flailing hand of Shovkovsky.
Rather than being startled by the setback, Kiev were energised with both Bangoura and Aliyev off target when they should have restored their side’s lead. On the hour mark, Vukojevic hit the post. Drogheda still had moments on the break where a dose of subtlety could have yielded returns with two poor decisions by Kuduzovic pre-empting his withdrawal.
As the half progressed, however, attention switched to the home rearguard where Gartland and Shaun Maher made a pair of last-ditch tackles.
Recent patients Shane Barrett and Brian Shelley were introduced to give Drogheda a new lease of life and a bit more spark on the counter, but they were mainly engaged in defence with Ewings making another fine save from Milevsky in the 70th minute.
The home netminder was only playing in the absence of the injured Dan Connor, but was performing above the level of an understudy. Alas, holding onto that situation going into next Wednesday’s second leg proved beyond the Eircom League side, as Kiev had the energy to press forward with a purpose that would eventually pay off.
They celebrated Aliyev’s winner with a sense of relief that their pre-match ruminations suggested they could not have anticipated.
“We were magnificent tonight, especially in the second half, and I’m delighted with the way we played,” said Drogheda boss Paul Doolin. "The only thing that annoys me is that we lost our home unbeaten record in Europe.
“We rode our luck at times and we’re under no illusions about how difficult it’s going to be out there but we’ll be going with the same attitude.”
Drogheda United – Ewings; Byrne, Gartland, Maher, Kendrick; Baker (O’Brien 89), Keegan (Shelley 69), Hughes, Cahill, Kuduzovic (Barrett 61); Zayed.
Dynamo Kiev – Shovjovskyi; Betao, Diakhate, Mykhalyk, Nesmachniy; Ghioane (Shatskikh 79), Aliyev, Vukojevic Ninkovic; Milevsky (El Kaddouri 88); Bangoura (Kravets 61).
REF – S Oddvar Moen (Norway).
- Daniel McDonnell
