Drogheda United ended their dismal six-match losing sequence with a thoroughly deserved victory over Galway United at United Park last night.

A hat-trick by Mark Byrne ensures Drogheda move off the foot of the Premier Division table.

Byrne's opening goal came in the 38th minute when he gave visiting goalkeeper Eddie Hickey no chance with a well struck shot from 12 yards following a through-ball by Fergal Coleman.

The visitors looked to be in real trouble 10 minutes into the second half when Hickey was red-carded for a professional foul outside his penalty area.

However, they managed to lift their game and levelled through Jason Kabia eight minutes later following a mistake by Drogheda goalkeeper Gareth Byrne.

But the home side eventually made their numerical advantage tell and Byrne restored their lead in the 73rd minute with a farpost header. The young striker completed his hat-trick with a close-range effort seven minutes from the end.

DROGHEDA UNITED: G Byrne, A Murphy, Boyle, Thornton, Maher, O'Keeffe, M Byrne, C Murphy, Revins, O'Dowd, Coleman. Sub: McCann for Revins (70 mins).

GALWAY UNITED: Hickey, Sheridan, Morgan, Foley, Clery, Dolan, Malee, Neary, King, Lavine, Watson. Subs: Kabia for Watson (halftime), Flowers for King (55 mins), Kileen for Malee (73 mins).

Referee: J Stacey (Athlone).

A 59th-minute goal from midfielder Paul Scully earned Kilkenny a 3-2 victory at Buckley Park last night. However, he was injured in a clash with goalkeeper Jimmy Fyffe and took no further part in the game.