As early as the third minute Eamon Zayed should have given Fingal the lead but he pulled his shot across goal and wide.

Drogheda then had a couple of chances as Jamie Harris saw his header saved by Darren Quigley and Paul Crowley sent his headed effort narrowly over.

With twelve minutes gone the most porous defence in the league imploded yet again when Alan McNally failed to deal with Glen Crowe's cross from the right and Ronan Finn all too easily brushed past Damien Brennan to pick his spot in the bottom corner of the net.

As the half wore on the home side created a couple of half decent chances when Gareth O'Connor's snap shot wasn't far away and a wicked deflection off Ger O'Brien from Crowley's strike sailed the wrong side of the target.

Just before the break the visitors went within a whisker of doubling their advantage when Crowe laid the ball off to Alan Kirby, who spotting keeper Paul Skinner off his line, executed what looked like the perfect chip utility bounced off the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

Early on in the second half Drogheda had a shout for a penalty turned down by referee Ken Halliday when Colm Smith went down in the box as Quigley dived at his feet to push the ball away.

A bizarre incident almost yielded an equaliser as Skinner's kick from his own area bounced up wildly forcing opposite number Quigley to tip the ball out for a corner.

With an hour gone O'Connor's free from the left picked out Jamie Harris but Quigley was well positioned to make the save.

United's persistence finally paid dividends in the 69th minute when a poor clearance fell to the outstanding Gareth O'Connor who drove a screamer to the net from all of thirty-five yards.

Minutes later the home side were denied a lead goal by the timber as O'Connor and Harris combined in similar fashion to a little earlier only for the latter's header to come back off the post.

With the home side now rampant Quigley twice more came to the rescue of Fingal before the finish as he saved brilliantly from Brendan McGill and O'Connor.

Drogheda: Skinner, Treacy,, McNally, McGill B, Crowley, O'Connor, Harris, Daly (McGill E 66), King, Fitzpatrick, Smith (Duffy 76).

Fingal: Quigley, O'Brien, Fitzgerald, Williams, Dawson, McFaul, Byrne, Finn, Crowe, Kerbey (James 88), Zayed (Quinn 83).

Referee K. Halliday (Belfast)