Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Drogheda can continue riding the wave and proving people wrong as the Premier Division's pace-setters, predicts Andrew Quinn. Kevin Doherty's Boynesiders are the surprise packets of the top flight thus far this season, having survived a relegation play-off last November. Only a few days earlier, however, Quinn scored the side's first goal in their memorable FAI Cup final victory over Derry City in the FAI Cup final. "It was amazing, a dream come true," recalled the 23-year-old. "Growing up going to the Aviva, you always wanted to play there, and the goal was just a cherry on top. "Look, it's a really tight-knit group, we wanted to do it for each other. But then for the club...you could see with the celebrations after, talking to the fans and the people of Drogheda, it meant so much to win the Cup and stay up. It's a bit of a GAA feel up there, a real community feel, and you got that when you celebrated with them all." This is Quinn's second spell with Drogheda, having left to go full-time with Shelbourne in 2023. It was a real education in that environment but despite enjoying working under Joey O'Brien and Damien Duff, he decided to return to the Boynesiders ahead of last season. "I had a decision to stay or go and I always make my decisions on football where I'll get most minutes and no-one watches training, people only watch matches," explained the Dunslaughin defender. "It was quite an easy decision for me. I was confident in the decision I made and I'm very happy that it worked out in the end where both clubs were successful. It just worked out perfectly." (Image: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott) Shels went on to win the League while Drogheda recovered brilliantly from a dreadful start to the campaign. Quinn, who feels he is playing his best football under Doherty, says that the team have just continued this season from where they left off. "If you take into consideration the run that we went on from July to November, then winning the Cup and the play-off, as a group we carried that momentum forward," he said. "And sure people doubting us only drove us on even further. We knew that we could be competitive in the League and have carried that on. We're comfortable now, everyone knows their roles and I think we'll only grow stronger as the season goes on, with lads coming back from injuries. "The worst of it last season was in April and May, before the break. We just felt that we were going into games that we couldn't win - but now we're going into games and you almost feel like you're going to win. "There's been a switch in the mood where we're more positive going into games, if we don't win we're disappointed. Darragh Markey said a couple of weeks ago that you get addicted to winning - I think you can get used to winning and losing. "If we can just ride this wave, take it one weeks at a time and keep this winning feeling as long as we can, we can keep it up. It's about staying ahead of the pack." Earning a point against both St Pat's and Shels in the past week has been a boost coming into tonight's visit to Galway. "They're two teams tipped to win the League and for us to be competitive with them is a very good sign," Quinn said. "Galway are quite similar to ourselves, they defend well and try to beat teams on the press," he said. "We're taking a lot of momentum from Monday's performances, it was probably one of our best of the season so hopefully we can get the job done." And, for Quinn, there's the prospect of putting his full commitment into the game after he does his final business exam in Maynooth in six weeks' time, along with a series of continuous assessment assignments. "To be honest, I'm dying just to be able to have football as my sole focus," he admitted. "I'm only 23, hopefully I'll have the business degree in my back pocket. "A lot of papers to be written, a lot of studying and then concentrate on my football. I might as well give it a good go and see where it takes me." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.