Inside Track: Drogheda supporters do their best to spoil Oriel Park’s big night

The last time I saw Dundalk playing ‘live’ on television was two seasons ago. It was a Premiership match, and for the life of me, I can’t remember who the Lilies were playing or the result.

What I do remember, however, is that the place looked grotty and the crowd was poor, no-one behind either of the goals. It wasn’t a good season – relegation came at the end of it.

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I got a bit of stick for the ‘grotty’ remark, and perhaps it was deserved, it coming from someone who’d been in the place only twice since the pitch was turned around.

This brings me to last Friday night, and the game with Drogheda, Dundalk’s first at home since making a swift return to the top tier.

I was tuned in, and my immediate impression was that the place looked spic and span, new surface, new lights and paint generously applied. There was a huge crowd behind the town goals and in front of the main stand, as well.

To tell you the truth, it was what I was expecting. The Orielite I know best, Paul, had been telling me that upwards on a half-million was spent in upgrading the venue, and that a huge voluntary effort had gone into the tidying the nooks and crannies.

Pity then that the night of the new-look Oriel’s unveiling should have been spoiled, to a degree, by the gurriers among the visiting Drogheda fans who thought it was smart to throw flares onto the pitch, causing damage to the new surface. This happened even before the kick-off.

Rivalry, and the keener the better, is good for sport, but expressing in this way is no good for the game or the team supported by the perpetrators. It goes without saying there will have to be extra vigilance when other Louth derbies come along.

It was expected that the visiting so-called supporters might cause trouble. And they did, but any chance of them causing further damage was quelled by a section of them being herded down to Dundalk station after the match by truncheon-carrying gárdaí.

As for the game itself, it was another in which Dundalk had their pockets picked late on. The previous week, Derry denied Ciarán Kilduff’s side full points with a 98th-minute equaliser, and in this one, his team was being cheered home, leading by a goal with time almost up.

But having sent in a couple of chaps, both standing very tall at well over six foot, Drogheda manager, Stephen Doherty, got a return when a couple of them provided assistance to Dermot Keeley, the defender beating the Dundalk goalie to the nod after the ball had come in from a well-placed centre.

Claiming a draw from games with Derry and Drogheda looks good for Dundalk, but it’s no better than if they had come against the likes of Galway or Waterford, teams that are forecast to be in a struggle to avoid relegation. It’s four points dropped, and that could be crucial come the final tot.