Men’s National Water Polo League Division 1
Drogheda 4 : 7 Sandycove
Drogheda’s recent rich vein of form which saw them climb to second place in the National Water Polo League came to a shuddering halt on Sunday in the National Aquatic Centre at the hands of a resurgent Sandycove team.
Both teams entered the match missing a number of key players and the quality of the fare reflected as much as neither team sparkled on the day – a bit like the facility in the NAC itself as the first quarter was played out without the help of the main electronic scoreboard. This can be a critical issue in water polo, as like basketball and other sports the clock is hugely important.
However, having taken an early lead when Aidan Mullaney outfoxed the Sandycove keeper Eoin Doyle, Sandycove proceeded to take the game by the scruff of the neck for the remainder of the quarter, starting almost immediately as Alex Crosbie conceded a penalty at the opposite end and Max Connolly with a thundering left handed effort gave Adam Child no chance in the Drogheda goal.
Two minutes later, Connolly added his and Sandycove’s second with a shot from distance that caught the Drogheda rearguard unawares. At this early stage in the match there were signs of lethargy in the Drogheda ranks but little did they think that they would not reel in their opponents for the rest of the tie.
Drogheda did have chances to level things as the quarter progressed but a mix of sloppy play and poor finishing on their part combined with a little more structure and accuracy from Sandycove saw the lead extended to 3 – 1 as time ticked down when Ronan Kirby finished off an extra man play after Alex Crosbie’s second major foul of the match.
It wasn’t so much as cue the Drogheda response as the second quarter began, but having conceded to Sandycove again through that man Connolly again to trail by three, Drogheda eventually found some sort of rhythm at the front and with the addition of veteran David Murnaghan helping to shore up the defence, 2 quickfire goals at the back end of the quarter through Andy Healy and Aidan Mullaney suddenly saw them back in contention as they trailed by a single goal at half time. Sandycove’s coaching ticket at this point were apoplectic with their charges who failed to punish Drogheda’s lack of discipline on a remarkable 3 occasions during the second quarter as three times in a row one of their players broke Rule 1 as they drifted off side in an extra man play.
A very cagey third quarter then ensued and Drogheda forced the play to level the match with a rocket left hand shot from Andy Healy that left a hapless Eoin Doyle stranded. The next goal in this situation was always going to be crucial and so it proved. In the very next attack Drogheda were given a golden opportunity to take the lead following a Conn Walsh exclusion, but their extra man play which has been so pivotal for them this season let them down as they failed to get a shot away from the play. Andy Healy then undid his great work when a clash with Fergal Kirby saw the Drogheda man spend 20 seconds in the sin bin with Sandycove capitalising through Connolly to regain the lead by a single goal going into the last quarter.
Both teams missed extra man opportunities in the last quarter before Josh Reilly took full advantage of Drogheda leaving gaps at the back as they chased the game, as he netted twice for Sandycove to stretch their lead to an unassailable 3 goals, thus ending the Boynesider’s 4 match top flight winning streak.
Coach James Healy was philosophical after the match, lamenting the issues that went wrong on the day, but praising Sandycove for having the wherewithal to dig out a deserved victory.
It doesn’t get any easier for Drogheda as their next league fixture in 2 weeks’ time sees them face off against North Dublin who also saw their winning streak come to an end on Sunday as they lost out to St Vincents who joined them at the top of the table on 15 points, but as the season nears the half way stage the club are sitting pretty in 3rd place in the rankings.
Team: Adam Child, Alex Crosbie, Aidan Mullaney (2), Teige Kelly, Simon Heffernan, Finn Hanley, Andy Healy (2), Simon Brazil, James Winters, Pearse Branigan, Dan Synnott, Carlos Lopez, David Murnaghan.
