Nine-man Shamrock Rovers were denied a first win of the season by a late equaliser for the second week in a row as Drogheda United came back to earn a deserved point at Weavers Park.
The manner in which Rovers have dropped four points from six available at the start of the campaign will not sit well with head coach Stephen Bradley, but three players sent off in two games will surely sting the most.
Such indiscipline is not something often associated with the champions. Roberto Lopes was sent off last week and here his central defensive partners Lee Grace and Daniel Cleary followed him. Both were shown two yellow cards by referee Sean Grant.
Their dismissals came within eight second minutes of each other. From a position of strength – Graham Burke had put the visitors into the lead – their heads were gone. Drogheda had battled hard throughout and when the Rovers players started dropping like flies, their heads rose.
Ryan Brennan's 89th-minute goal earned United a point. He has developed a knack for scoring against his former employers in the colours of his hometown club.
Kevin Doherty might be beginning to tire of Drogheda being referred to as one of only two part-time teams playing in the top flight but such a status and subsequent gap in resources is never more keenly felt than when the league holders come to Ireland’s biggest town.
His team battled hard and brought the game to Bradley’s team in such a way they made a habit of last year. United took five points off them in 2022.
Burke was Rovers’ 11-goal top scorer in last season’s Premier Division. Beginning this campaign with strikes in back-to-back games suggests he is set fair to outdo that feat this time around.
His goal came at the start of the second half, during a period where Rovers ramped up the pressure on the United goal. They had edged the first half but hadn’t much troubled the home goal. He had shot straight at Colin McCabe and Johnny Kenny twice skewed wide before Burke notched.
McCabe flapped at a Jack Byrne corner and after United failed to properly clear, Burke pounced from close range.
Grace received his marching orders when Grant brandished a second yellow for a foul on Dylan Grimes. From the resulting free kick, Dayle Rooney smacked an effort off the post. The ball came back off Alan Mannus and the goalkeeper had to claw it off the line.
United tails were up and their numerical supremacy soon increased further. Cleary was booked twice in the space of two minutes.
There was time for Brennan to break Rovers resistance and hearts, with teenage debutant Warren Davis playing his part in the winner.
The champions host Derry City next week in the first battle of the season’s presumed title contenders.
Drogheda United: Colin McCabe; Elicha Ahui, Ben Curtis (Emmanuel Adegboyega, 12), Conor Keeley, Evan Weir (Warren Davis, 84); Gary Deegan, Ryan Brennan; Adam Foley (Dylan Grimes, 65), Darragh Markey, Dayle Rooney; Freddie Draper
Shamrock Rovers: Alan Mannus; Gary O’Neill, Daniel Cleary, Lee Grace; Neil Farrugia, Jack Byrne (Darragh Nugent, 85), Markus Poom, Dylan Watts (Rory Gaffney, 85), Trevor Clarke; Johnny Kenny (Richard Towell, 85), Graham Burke (Sean Gannon, 76)
Referee: Sean Grant
