Damien Richardson was left to rue suspensions and injuries as Drogheda United exited the FAI Ford Cup, losing 5-0 to Derry City at the Brandywell.
United claimed a 2-2 draw in the original quarter-final fixture, despite being reduced to eight men, but the suspensions of Peter McGlynn, Shane Grimes and Gavan Holohan, and the absence of Gary O’Neill through injury, meant they faced an uphill battle.
Rory Patterson scored a hat-trick for the home side, while Patrick McEleney and Michael Duffy were also on the mark.
United boss Richardson accepted that the better team won on the night, and revealed how he’ll get over the disappointing result.
“We were missing key players and we didn’t really get hold of the ball,” he told RTÉ Sport:
“The great strength of this Derry team is that if they get hold of the ball, it gets the confidence going and they’re a very difficult proposition to contend with and we never really came to terms with them.
“We gave it 100% effort so I’m full of admiration for my players but the longer the game went on the more difficult the situation became and you have to accept that the best team won on the night.
"That happens, so you go home and you have a nice cup of tea and you start again.”
"You go home and you have a nice cup of tea and you start again"
Candystripes manager Peter Hutton admitted that they were never really tested.
“[The boys] went out and they applied themselves well,” he said.
“There was no complacency and we took it to them. We were patient and we kept our composure in front of goal and thankfully we scored a few.”
