The performance was far from perfect but this Sunday afternoon pretty much went to plan for Shamrock Rovers.

With a €3m European tie kicking off this Thursday, Stephen Bradley needed to manage the workload of key men while also ensuring they regained sole possession of top spot in their title race with St Patrick's Athletic.

It was job done on both counts, with an Aaron Greene goal after half time enough to break the resolve of a Drogheda team that set out with a containment mission in the hope of springing their preferred attacking options later in the game.

The hour mark was approaching when they conceded with Graham Burke finding space in the box to collect a Danny Mandroiu pass and skip away from new Drogs recruit Joe Redmond before putting the ball on a plate for Greene.

Suspended Drogheda boss Tim Clancy, watching from the stands on account of a touchline ban, will be frustrated that his back three were picked apart so easily.

They had been resolute prior to that, restricting Rovers to half chances before the break. Burke was on the bench for both legs of the Hoops' Europa Conference League victory over Albanian side Teuta Dorres but he made his case for involvement against Flora Tallinn.

An ongoing injury problem has been troubling the Dubliner this term and, in normal circumstances, he would be starting those games. He'll have a big role to play either way as the Hoops look to make the group stages.

Bradley made six changes from the team which did the business in Albania on Thursday, with Sean Hoare, Sean Gannon, Sean Kavanagh and Chris McCann coming in along with Greene and Burke. It's a rollcall which demonstrates the strength of their squad now that their injury list has eased.

Prior to falling behind, Drogheda had a couple of chances on the break but their execution was poor.

They applied pressure in the aftermath of the concession with subs Darragh Markey, Mark Doyle and Ronan Murray giving them more options in the attacking third. But aside from a penalty shout when Hoare blocked a Massey cross and a game of head tennis in the area from the resultant corner, Rovers used their experience to see it out without emptying the tank.

With no league game on the agenda next weekend, they can now pile all energies into their European ambition.

Drogheda United: Odumosu, Redmond (Murray 64), O'Reilly, Massey (Corcoran 80); Browne, Phillips, Deegan (Heeney 80), Hyland, Kane; Clarke (Doyle 56); Adeyemo (Doyle 56).

Shamrock Rovers: Mannus, Hoare, Lopes, Scales; Gannon, Towell (O'Neill 77), McCann, Kavanagh; Burke (Watts 68), Mandroiu (Gaffney 70); Greene.

Referee: Ray Matthews.