Drogs v Helsingborgs

[Dotsy]

Did he definitely start with one up front or did Ristila play up front with Zayed? PLayed that way against us last week

Sounded like it was one up front. Madness. At least they seemed to have changed it this half.

[Dotsy]

Sounds like the Swedes are getting tired

Definitely. Showed too much respect to these guys first half.

[Risteard]

Was crazy alright if its what he did.
He must have thought they could hold out 180 minutes for penalties.

Hope the Drogs can maintain our superiority over Swedish opposition after our ****-up against Hammarby.
I reckon Drogs fitness is savage and should show in the last 15 minutes.

[centre mid]

Sounds like the Swedes are happy to settle for an away goal, Drogheda have to go for the jugular now

[Burny89]

Its all about fitness at this level. If ye can last and fight till the end ye got a chance. Thats one thing people said about Derry last year, that SK had them super fit. This year they've been sluggish after Fenlon had then bulking up in the Gym

Com'n Drogs

[Dotsy]

Sounds like Drogs beginning to feel the pace. It's gone very dead the last 10 mins.

[sligoman]

RTE News just after showing Larsson's goal[good strike]...didn't show Drogheda's one though

[pete]

1-1 FT

Keeps the tie alive just about but odds are firmly against Drogs.

Few coefficients won't make move up a place but keeps the eL moving in the correct direction.

[paul_oshea]

so there was cameras there?

sounds like they should have won it though. but at least in this match it seemed like drogheda were controlling it.

[Soko]

Well done Doolin, your tactics worked a charm. You deserve to go out

[eirebhoy]

I'd love it if thousands of Celtic-beshirted knuckledraggers turned up and Larsson did his hamstring in the warm-up.

Hope it goes well for the Drogs tonight.... when I say I hope it goes well for the Drogs, I mean the coefficient of course!

And I really hope Larsson doesn't play just to **** off any eejits who are going along just to see him

Good luck to the Drogs !

Hope Larsson plays and is sh!te. Feckin has-been....

I'm delighted Larsson scored just because of the anti-Celtic feeling amongst the LOI support. I thought you lot had someone else to moan about...Sunderland.

[MeathDrog]

I was at the game and there was 2 up front! not one!

[micls]

I'm delighted Larsson scored just because of the anti-Celtic feeling amongst the LOI support. I thought Sunderland were the new Celtic anyway.

And things like an Irish person being happy that a Swede scored against an Irish team in Europe is the reason for these anti-Celtic feelings

[eirebhoy]

And things like an Irish person being happy that a Swede scored against an Irish team in Europe is the reason for these anti-Celtic feelings

Ahh go way out of that. I'm always pro-Irish teams. My heart was still with Drogheda tonight. If it wasn't for the bloody idiotic moronic attitude to people on here about Celtic I wouldn't have cared less whether Larsson scored. Just like I couldn't care whether he scores any other time.

Put yourself in my shoes. I'm being branded a knuckle dragger because I support Celtic. I'd be embarassed to wear a Celtic shirt in Dublin because I know too well what a lot of people are thinking. Get over it. I support a foreign team. I'm bloody raging typing this. I love Celtic. That's not a decision I made and it's something that can't be changed. Any football fan should know that feeling.

[Réiteoir]

And things like an Irish person being happy that a Swede scored against an Irish team in Europe is the reason for these anti-Celtic feelings

one of the lads on GW sums it up well:

I wouldn't normally go to the European games of another EL Club but tonight, my curiosity aroused by the whole Celtic nonsense, I went along in a gesture of solidarity with our Eircom League of Ireland brethren. It was indeed embarrassing.

I was on Connaught Street and there were plenty of people around me who were urging Henrik on whenever he got the ball. The "hardcore" though, of about forty or fifty, stood beside their big celtic flag in the Des kelly for the first half, then moved to the unseated part of connaught street, directly above the entrance, to be nearer to their man when helsingborgs attacked the shopping centre goal.

The Drogheda hardcore were in sections A-B and chanted "If you're only here for Henrik **** of home" throughout, while the "Bhoys" responded with Celtic chants, cheering whenever the swedes were awarded a free kick in a dangerous area.

With a couple of minutes to go I moved towards the exit so I could be near them at full time, just to see if any of them were in fact scottish. Nope. I have never had the bad fortune to hear that "Henrik Larsson is the king of kings" thing but, if there is a gayer footie chant, I have yet to hear it.

For me, the great irony is not that these guys, who, if they fit the stereotytpe, probably see themselves as Uber-Gaels, come along to support a Swedish team against an Irish one, although that's bad enough. What really makes me laugh is that the object of their hero worship has turned down big money in the glamour leagues, preferring instead to see out his career with his hometown club and give something back to football in his own country, while a load of cut me and I bleed green Irish guys probably won't see the inside of Dalyer, or indeed any other EL ground, for many a long day.

[Burnsie]

Watching the game from a reasonably neutral perspective (i backed helsingborgs but was cheering on the drogs), I thought Drogheda could be proud of their performance.

Helsingborgs were technically a bit better, comfortable on the ball from 1 to 11, with a couple of big strong lads bullying the Drogs a bit. Larsson was mostly kept quiet but showed some flashes of brilliance. They did miss a couple of extraordinary sitters - one in the opening five minutes that beggared belief, when their other striker beat a couple of players, went around the keeper, and passed the ball wide of the empty goal from about five yards away. And they were inches from scoring in injury time, volleying just wide after a splendid move.

zayed looked a real threat - made some good runs into the channels, and stuck his goal away nicely with the left foot.

connor's kicking was atrocious right throughout the game. i've never been impressed by him.

[A face]

RTE News just after showing Larsson's goal[good strike]...didn't show Drogheda's one though

If any of you ever felt hard done by from Irish media then you should pick up the phone. This is the number for the RTE complaints department 01 208 3434 ..... To show a goal of a foreign team over an Irish team is just completely not acceptable.

Even if it cost you a euro, make the fawkin' call if you want change ffs.

[MeathDrog]

thats the gist of what happened reiteoir.gas thing is the lad with me is mad celtic,goes to all drogs games before you get wound up,and he was livid about it too

I was in the Des Kelly stand and I was well ****ed off when Irish people wearing some sort of Celtic clothing around me started cheering when he scored.This was a big, big night for Irish soccer and all they wanted to see was some 36 year old score against one of their own teams.Just shows you how many plastic fans are out there.

[eirebhoy]

If they were actually wishing for a Helsingborg win against Drogs then I find that very strange. I don't see what's embarassing about the rest of it though. Drogheda filled a few seats that they otherwise wouldn't have with a few Celtic fans going to see the clubs greatest ever player, probably for the last time. And you're not going to get a few Celtic fans together without them singing Celtic songs. If Henrik Larsson was playing in Switzerland you can be sure the France, Germany, or wherever else it would be out supporting him. If he playing in Paris it'd be the same. Obviously the ratio of home fans to Larsson fans would be a lot bigger though.

Just out of interest, was it a full house tonight?

[NeilMcD]

its a joke eirebhoy Irish people shouting for a Swedish team or cheering a goald that once played for a foreign team. There is no defending it if you believe in nationalism. If you dont well they thats fair enough.