Teenager Kareem’s dream debut keeps Drogheda’s European hopes alive

Dare Kareen was brought into the club in the off-season as an Under 20s player.

Fuhad Kareem of Drogheda United celebrates after scoring his side's winning goal against Galway. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

SSE Airtricity Premier Division: Drogheda United 1 Galway United 0

It was a night to remember for teenager Dare Kareem, the second-half matchwinner, as Drogheda United beat Galway United to maintain their European push.

Brought into the club in the off-season as an Under 20s player, he was handed his full debut in a week when talisman Douglas James-Taylor left the club for pastures new.

The Tribesmen arrived in County Louth on a run of results that included just one defeat in six matches. They remained in seventh though, with some catching up to do on the teams spearheading the race for European qualification.

Three draws in that sequence means points had been left behind more often than John Caulfield will like and their opponents Drogheda are the Premier Division’s undisputed draw specialists, with 12 stalemates so far this season.

The Moses Dyer-era was a short-lived but impactful one, while Patrick Hickey was also missing for the visitors. Drogheda were operating without two of their most potent attackers in recent times too.

James-Taylor is a Bohemians player now and Warren Davis was watching on from the sidelines himself. Kareem has certainly announced himself now.

A winner was not easy to pick out in an opening 45 minutes that will not live long in the memory.

The Drogs were an almost non-existent attacking threat in the first half, however. Only when debutant Kareem miscued a shot attempt did Kevin Doherty’s team go close to causing the Galway defence any bother.

There was almost an embarrassing moment for Conor Keeley when his defensive header needed to be helped over the bar by goalkeeper Luke Dennison. Jeannot Esua didn’t properly connect with the ball when he shot at goal, having been teed up by Stephen Walsh.

The veteran striker, now back in the starting XI upon Dyer’s departure for Cambodia, had two sights of goal himself – the first blocked and the second just wide.

It took Drogheda just four minutes to break the deadlock upon the resumption. Galway had two opportunities to clear Owen Lambe’s long throw into the penalty area – they took neither.

Instead, it fell to Kareem who hooked the ball beyond Evan Watts. The teenager made a beeline straight for his manager in the Drogheda dugout to celebrate. Doherty had more experienced options to start in attack but plumped for the 19-year-old and his decision paid off.

That goal awoke something in Drogheda and they took the game to Galway at that point. Keeley went closest to doubling their lead.

DROGHEDA UNITED: Dennison; Quinn (Bolger, 70), Keeley, Harper-Bailey; Lambe, Brennan (Farrell, 75), Heeney, Kane; Markey; Oluwa, Kareem.

GALWAY UNITED: Watts; Buckley (Brouder, 58), Cunningham (Horgan, 90+4), Slevin; Esua, Borden (Bolger, 72), Hurley (Piesold, 58), Burns; McCarthy; Walsh, Shaw (Tollett, 58).

Referee: Damien MacGraith