Pat Devlin left frustrated by officiating as Cabinteely lose at home to Drogheda

Andrew Dempsey reports from Stradbrook Road

Cabinteely first-team boss Pat Devlin criticised the officiating on Tuesday evening after his side lost 2-0 at home to Drogheda United.

Despite the defeat, Cabinteely remain in the First Division playoffs, but Devlin was not pleased with the refereeing show on display.

“We had a tough night,” Devlin said after the game. “We had our centre-back sent-off early on and I thought some of the decisions made against us were shocking and it’s not for the first time this year.

He added: “You can’t go out and do things like that and expect it to be ignored. If you’re involved in the game, you expect to have knowledge of the game. Some of the decisions made tonight had a lack of knowledge.”

However, despite many calls going against his side, he was pleased with the effort they put into the game.

“I was really happy with our lads,” he added. “They battled well and kept at it. We’re down to the bare bones with players.

“The best team always wins the league and I’m delighted for Drogheda but I’m sad for Bray.

“I’m sorry that we couldn’t have done it for them, but we done our best and we were unfortunately beaten by the better team on the night.

“But to be down to ten-men, and to be treated as harshly as we were is difficult for us. but we’re in the playoffs and we still have a chance, but we are down to the bare bones.”



He finished as the playoffs await Cabinteely: “We have a lot to do, but our lads have been great all season.

“A lot has happened to us and they’ve still bounced back so don’t underestimate us. We’ll go again.”