League of Ireland Premeir Division/ Drogheda United 2 Cork City 1:If Paul Doolin and his Drogheda United team have taken some stick over the past couple of years for the way in which they have tended to grind out their victories then they gave their answer in some style at United Park last night.

A stunning last-minute winner by Guy Bates wrapped up victory in a compelling game. The victory brought with it the club's first League of Ireland championship some 44 years after they first moved up to the country's senior ranks.

It was a remarkable end to a memorable night on which the sense of impending celebration had steadily receded after Drogheda United had surrendered the first-half lead earned for them by Eamon Zayed.

Cork City drew level thanks to a goal by Jason Gavin and threatened to go on and claim the three points. The effect really would have been no more than to delay Drogheda's triumph by a matter of days or weeks but as it turned out the home side were in no mood for waiting.

Bates' low struck drive to the bottom left corner of the net from 25 yards ensured that the party at the packed stadium was back on again. The crowd had come to see their side make history but clearly they weren't going to object to being entertained along the way.

They must have been pleased early on then to see the two sides settle into an open contest in which Drogheda enjoyed a significant upper hand.

It took a while before the game threw up a decent scoring opportunity but after a defensive error allowed Drogheda's Ollie Cahill to float in a curling cross for Zayed to head wide, there followed a steady stream of them, most falling to the local strikers.

Cork City contributed a good deal to their own problems over those opening stages with some slipshod defending.

Neither Dan Murray nor Seán Kelly seemed able to exert any real authority around their own area while the full backs struggled to cope with the pace they were seeking to contain.

In midfield things were more even. Drogheda may have edged possession but Cork made use of what they got with Liam Kearney repeatedly the preferred route forward for the visitors.

A couple of his crosses seriously tested the resolve of the home side's defence and the best of them found Gareth Farrelly just beyond the far post from where he forced Dan Connor into a decent reaction save.

Drogheda, though, continued to generate the bulk of the chances with a handful coming from set-pieces, some of them hastily conceded by the nervous visitors.

From a couple of corners they threatened to break the deadlock but it was from a free, after Cork's Colin Healy had been booked for a challenge on Bates, that they scored just after the half hour.

Paul Keegan's initial cross was cleared to Shane Robinson out on the right-hand flank and his cross hopped about a little too long for Cork's good before Graham Gartland headed forward and Zayed turned the ball home with a header to the top left corner.

The striker was gifted an opportunity to make it two not long after when Michael Devine lost his footing as he came to gather Kelly's under-hit back pass. Zayed, though, hit the side-netting with a rushed shot from a tight angle when Bates was waiting in space to his right.

With the home side in the driving seat, the second half started a little more tightly. Cork looked determined to haul themselves back level but Doolin's men made it difficult for them, working hard to close things down from a long way out.

There was no shortage of claret shirts around the Drogheda area for the Cork equaliser, rather the problem was that the man wearing the one with the captain's armband, Gavin, misjudged the flight of Kearney's cross and turned it in between Connor and the left-hand post.

For a while the atmosphere went flat and Cork even got the upper hand but it didn't last. In the closing seconds, the hosts dug deep and set off in pursuit of a winner. When it came the place was hit by a tidal wave of unrestrained joy. That may recede over time but United's place in the history books will endure.

"It's brilliant to win the league and a relief for me after scoring a goal like that," said Gavin afterwards. "I'm thrilled for the crowd, they're fantastic fans and for the directors who've done so much to bring the club on. It's no more than they deserved for all the work they've put in."

DROGHEDA UNITED: Connor; Shelley, Gavin, Gartland, Webb; Robinson, Keegan, Byrne, Cahill; Zayed (Grant, 87 mins), Bates.

CORK CITY: Devine; Horgan, Kelly, Murray, Woods; Farrelly, Gamble, Healy, Kearney; Behan, McSweeney (O'Flynn, 67 mins).

Referee: D Hancock(Dublin).

Top Drogs: How the title was won

Paul Doolin's four-year plan for the transformation of Drogheda United came to a fruitful conclusion at United Park last night. The club's first ever league title was actually clinched after four years and one month of patient hard graft by the former UCD boss, but around United Park that extra wait was not something that bothered their loyal fans.

The campaign kicked off with a listless draw at Dalymount Park but quickly picked up as the goals flowed and the points came tumbling in. St Patrick's matched them stride for stride until a Setanta Cup semi-final win after extra-time at Richmond Park in late April gave United a psychological edge over their rivals and precipitated something of a slump in the Dubliners' form.

By that stage, Doolin and his men had had to weather some rough times on the injury front with Declan O'Brien, Sami Ristila, Jason Gavin, Dan Connor, Graham Gartland, Richie Baker and James Keddy all being sidelined at some stage over the campaign, many of them for overlapping spells in those critically important early weeks.

They lost their first league encounter with St Pat's by a single goal back in May but settled into a familiar pattern of solid defending and determined attacking play that delivered a succession of important wins over rivals, including a rare cleansweep of the points against Derry City.

The club's back four was as impressive as it had been the year before, but the question of whether there would be enough goals scored to make a title challenge viable took a little time to answer.

Overall, they consistently proved to have an edge over their rivals, looking better organised, fitter and more focused at key points.

They may not be the most exciting side to have lifted this title in recent years, but Doolin has assembled a fair array of talent and as a result the approach is much less cautious than a couple of years ago and they have certainly had their moments over the last eight months.

Most importantly, they are, without doubt, worthy league champions this morning. - Emmet Malone