'How can you not be proud of that?' - Kevin Doherty hails Drogheda United players after FAI Cup final win

Drogheda United manager Kevin Doherty hailed his players for sticking to the plan after they overcame Derry City to win the FAI Cup for the second time.

Goals either side of half-time from Andrew Quinn and Douglas James-Taylor propelled the underdogs to a first Cup victory in 19 years, Drogheda out-battling the favourites throughout, completely snuffing out their attacking threat.

They confounded pre-match expectations that the occasion and the bigger pitch would benefit Derry - winners only two years ago - with Doherty suggesting that commentary had disrespected his players.

"We stuck to the plan and played very well," Doherty told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue after the game.

"Our preparation was good. We did have a couple of weeks. We knew we were in the playoff final, we knew we were in the Cup final, so we could start to prepare for it.

"Probably a lot of lazy stuff said so many times about the big pitch, nearly disrespecting how good our players are. That Derry would hurt us on the big pitch.

"The likes of Darragh Markey, Shane Farrell, Conor Kane - I could go through the whole lot (of them) - love the big pitch."

Doherty, a three-time league winner with Shelbourne as a player but who lost in his only Cup final appearance for Longford Town in 2007, arrived in Drogheda as Tim Clancy's assistant at the end of 2017, with the club in the First Division.

He assumed the top job after Clancy departed for St Patrick's Athletic at the end of 2021 and has managed to maintain their Premier Division status, even as they became the only part-time club in the top flight following Finn Harp's relegation in 2022.

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