Updated 15:40
THE NINE MEN of Dundalk were narrowly beaten 1 — 0 by Drogheda United in a highly controversial FAI Cup semi-final at Hunky Dory Park.
Dundalk battled gamely for 60 minutes despite the obvious disparity in numbers but Gavin Brennan’s penalty was enough to settle the Louth derby.
Stephen Kenny’s men were holding their own against their local rivals until the 26th minute when Darren Meenan was given a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Paul O’Conor. Drogheda claimed Richie Towell handled the resulting free in the box but were denied a penalty by referee Anthony Buttimer.
Drogheda got their wish three minutes later, however, as Chris Shields was harshly adjudged to have felled Declan O’Brien in the box. As the defender was the last man back, he was also dismissed. Brennan kept his nerve amid the protests and chaos before coolly slotting home to put his side ahead.
Over on the sidelines, Kenny was fuming. He told RTÉ, “We’re considering taking the team home, to be honest, because this guy is an absolute disgrace. He’s a disgrace. To make decisions like that, he has to be the centre of attention all of the time. Shocking stuff. Never in a million years was that a sending off.”
Here are the two red card incidents. Judge for yourself:
Surprisingly, Dundalk had the better chances as the half finished but they will face the steepest clim they have ever faced if they want to reach the final at the Aviva Stadium late this month.
Speaking at half-time, RTÉ panellist Richie Sadlier called the sending off decision “daft”. The former Millwall and Ireland striker did back Buttimer’s call to give Meenan his marching orders.
The second half began with Dundalk’s assistant manager Vinny Perth sent to the stands for his role in a half-time barracking of the match officials.
United boss Mick Cooke urged his side forward to get the second goal that would kill off the tie but, apart from speculative shots from long range, they were unable to break down Dundalk’ 4-3-1 formation.
The best chances of the half came when Tiaran Mulvenna got in behind the Drogheda defence, on 84 minutes, and was well blocked by Michael Schlingermann. United streamed forward and Shane Grimes was denied by a fine Peter Cherrie save.
Brennan then squandered a chance to seal the victory but Buttimer whistled for full-time soon after and United reached their third final of the season.
*First published at 14:55
