Drogheda United dismantled Wilton United at Weavers Park with a nine-goal mauling of the visitors to cruise into the quarter-finals of the Sports Direct FAI Cup – and they created history in the process.
Their victory is Drogheda's biggest ever in competitive football and the crowd on Boyneside, just shy of 1,000, witnessed hat-tricks from both Douglas James-Taylor and Bridel Bosakani.
Kevin Doherty did his due diligence on his team’s non-league opponents, travelling south to watch Wilton United face Avondale United last Saturday.
But the Munster Senior League side were no match for United from the first kick to the last.
The Drogs boss picked a strong team, with the starting XI unchanged from last Sunday’s draw with Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght Stadium. If that seemed ominous for the underdogs from Cork, their big night soon become one to forget.
Drogheda’s first two goals came via the penalty spot but they needed no help from referee Eoghan O’Shea thereafter.
After Luke Heeney and Conor Kane were fouled in separate incidents in the area, James-Taylor twice found the bottom corner to put the hosts in control inside 15 minutes.
The striker, on-loan from Walsall, completed his hat-trick on 21 minutes when he swept in after Shane Farrell had been released down the left flank. The midfielder reached the byline and his pull back was perfect for the 22-year-old to score his seventh goal in seven matches in claret-and-blue.
Drogheda had their fourth just after the half hour mark. Ryan Brennan planted a header beyond goalkeeper Jack Gibbons as he met Shane Farrell’s corner delivery. Surprisingly, it was a first goal of the season for a player who usually provides his fair share of goals from midfield.
Just 70 seconds or so of the second half had elapsed when the Drogs hit their fifth. James-Taylor fed his strike partner Frantz Pierrot. The Haitian blasted a shot past a beleaguered Wilton goalkeeper.
Three minutes later Andy Quinn looped a header into the corner of the net after substitute Warren Davis had returned a cleared corner back towards the six-yard box.
Another substitute, Bosakani, hit Drogheda’s seventh on the occasion of his 20th birthday. Darragh Markey made it – slipping in the striker who scored with a true right foot strike.
A seven-goal victory would match Drogheda’s biggest ever competitive win – an 8-1 win over Wexford in the First Division in 2018. United weren’t done yet, however.
There was still time for Bosakani to net again, twice. His second was the pick of a big bunch – controlling a headed clearance before producing a stepover and curling the ball past Gibbons. He then finished well in injury time for his third – and Drogheda’s ninth.
It was a memorable night for the birthday boy in any case but it was him that secured a new club record for Drogheda.
Drogheda United: Luke Dennison; Andrew Quinn, David Webster (Aaron Harper Bailey, 46), James Bolger; Elicha Ahui (Warren Davis, 46), Luke Heeney (Gary Deegan, 52), Ryan Brennan (Darragh Markey, 46), Conor Kane; Frantz Pierrot, Douglas James-Taylor (Bridel Bosakani, 67).
Wilton United: Jack Gibbons; Frank Down, Daniel Murphy (Callum Long, 73), Ireoluwa Olojitan, Evan Murphy, Ben Ryan (Brian Boyd, 65) Shay Daley (Aaron O’Connor, 73), James O’Sullivan, Jason Hogan (Hayden McCarthy, 65), Ian Roche, Jason Cullinane (Ralf Molotokas, 85).
Referee: Eoghan O’Shea
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