This scoreless encounter could have gone either way, although local minds were elsewhere in the final stages after a lengthy second-half delay when Shane Farrell collapsed onto the turf with nobody around him.
Medics from both sides rushed to his aid and Farrell – who had been involved in an aerial collision minutes earlier – was receiving oxygen as he was stretchered off.
There was real concern in the immediate aftermath, but after an eight-minute delay, when the players were moved away from Farrell to give him space and Drogs boss Kevin Doherty came onto the pitch, ref Paul Norton was given the nod that it would be OK to restart.
Doherty confirmed after that Farrell was conscious as he left the ground and was carried across the road to Lourdes Hospital where he was undergoing tests – the early indications are positive.
“He seems to be OK,” said Doherty, “That’s the most important thing because that was a scary few minutes for everyone.”
Naturally enough, it was a bit flat in the aftermath of what had been quite a lively affair despite the final scoreline.
Senan Mullen of Bohemians is tackled by Drogheda’s Edwin Agbaje at Sullivan & Lambe Park in Drogheda, Louth. Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
League of Ireland Review Show – Friday, April 3
This was Drogheda’s first match since Trivela’s controversial decision to remove co-chair Joanna Byrne from her position but there were no visible signs of protest or unrest.
Fans did produce pyro in the second half which was a response to the other off-the-field issue that has been a talking point in a campaign filled with distractions.
This was also Drogheda’s third draw on the trot.
Drogheda United supporters during the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match against Bohemians in Drogheda. Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
It was the Boynesiders who started like they were league leaders, with Bohemians rattled in the opening minutes.
Doherty seemed happy for his side to try and move the ball from back to front quickly, but in a way, that tested the pace of a new Bohs rearguard that has won rave reviews. Warren Davis and Mark Doyle have the speed to do that and they combined after an error by Senan Mullan allowed a rapid counter.
Davis picked the right pass and Doyle left his pursuers for dust, but he fired over with just Kacper Chorazka to beat. The hosts kept knocking on the door, with Brandon Kavanagh testing Chorazka after a Jordan Flores foul on Davis just outside the penalty area. The locals asked the usual questions from dead-balls and set-pieces, yet it was built on the pressure they were applying in general play.
Bohs survived the storm, with Dawson Devoy steadily beginning to exert influence with a view to giving the Gypsies a breather in a frantic encounter. They could have led at the interval, which would have been a hell of an outcome after the way they’d started. First, Devoy was slipped through in a break that was very similar to Doyle’s chance with three Drogheda players hunting the playmaker down as he burst from the halfway line; Edwin Agbaje’s superb recovery run allowed him to block the shot.
But Agbaje’s credit was emptied before the interval when he left a backpass painfully short, gifting Colm Whelan a 1990s MLS penalty shoot-out-style run on Luke Dennison. The American stopper won the battle of wits by standing tall as Whelan dithered.
There wasn’t as much goalmouth activity following the resumption, with Bohs enjoying a lot more control in general play initially.
What they lacked was the chances to accompany the pressure and they had a few scares at the other end as Drogheda recovered entering the final quarter.
But thoughts were dominated by Farrell after he went down, with the muted response to the full-time whistle understandable in the circumstances.
Drogheda United: Dennison, Agbaje, Bolger, Keeley, Quinn; Agbaje, Godden, O’Brien, Kane; B Kavanagh (Farrell 71; Brennan 90), Davis; Doyle (Oluwa 84).
Bohemians: Chorazka, Power, Hickey, Todd, Mullen (Diallo 83); Flores, McDonnell (Parsons 77); Myers, Devoy, Tierney (Vaughan 83); Whelan.
Referee: Paul Norton