Gallant Drogheda display upset by late winner

Drogheda United 1 Dynamo Kiev 2

Oleksandr Aliyev broke Drogheda hearts with a late winner to put Dynamo Kiev in the driving seat to make the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

But, make no mistake, this was a gallant display by the League of Ireland champions at Dalymount Park.

Adam Hughes had equalised Taras Mykhalyk's first half lead a minute into the second half.

But the slick Ukrainians laid virtual siege to the Drogheda goal for much of the remainder

of the game and finally got their reward on 85 minutes when impressive midfielder Aliyev cut in from the left and beat Jamie Ewings for a second time with a low, angled shot.

Dynamo's bright start brought its reward for the lead goal on 23 minutes.

Joe Kendrick gave away a needless free-kick for a foul on Betao. Ewings' punch from Aliyev's delivery fell to central defender Taras Mykhalyk who turned well to fire home from 12 yards.

Drogheda needed a spark to get them into the game and it came two minutes into the second half when they equalised.

Cahill fed Faz Kuduzovic on the left and his delightful chip found the run of Hughes whose looping header was touched into the air by Shovkovskiy with the dropping ball entering the net off the inside of a post.

Stung, Kiev hit back with Ismael Bangoura volleying over the top for a bad miss five minutes later.

Vukojevic then saw a snap shot come back off the butt of Ewings' right-hand post as the Drogs keeper came into his own with a string of saves, most noteably from Ghioane and Milevskiy, before Aliyev beat him again five minutes from the end.

Drogheda United: Ewings; Byrne, Maher, Gartland, Kendrick; Baker (O'Brien, 88), Hughes, Keegan (Shelley, 70), Cahill, Kuduzovic (Barrett, 61); Zayed.

Dynamo Kiev: Shovkovsky, Betao, Diakhate, Mykhalyk, Nesmachny; Ghioane (Shatskikh, 79), Vukojevic, Aliev, Ninkovic; Moleskin (El Kaddouri, 86); Bangoura (Kravets, 60).

Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway).