FIVE ON THE TROT
Christopher strikes late as 10-man Galway Utd continue winning run
CABINTEELY 0
GALWAY UNITED 1
Daire Walsh in Stradbrook
STEPHEN Christopher was the matchwinner in Stradbrook on Monday night as his 99th-minute finish propelled 10-man Galway United to the most dramatic of triumphs over Cabinteely in the SSE Airtricity League First Division.
Restored to the United side in place of the injured Conor Barry, Christopher produced the goods for John Caulfield’s rejuvenated charges. Cabinteely had seemingly gained the upper hand when Marc Ludden was dismissed on 67 minutes, but United ultimately held firm to secure all three points.
United have now won five league games in succession since Caulfield assumed the reins from Alan Murphy. Although they remain outside the play-off spots for the time being, only goal difference currently separates them from fifth-place UCD.
The Tribesmen were facing a Cabinteely side that began the day three points adrift of table-toppers Bray Wanderers. It was the hosts who had the first opportunity with Steven Kinsella’s long-range strike forcing a routine save out of Galway netminder Kevin Horgan.
Midfielder Dylan Thornton had a subsequent header cleared off the line by Killian Brouder as Pat Devlin’s Metropolitan outfit looked to set out their stall. Nevertheless, United posed a considerable threat of their own – not least from wide attackers Mikey Place and Shane Doherty.
The latter got his head to an enticing Place cross during the early exchanges and even though Corey Chambers was equal to his effort, it was a sign of things to come. After the Cabinteely custodian turned away Place’s half-volley, Doherty fired agonisingly over the opposition crossbar on the first-quarter mark.
United suffered a setback on 27 minutes when Doherty was forced out of the action. He was replaced on the left-wing by Timmy Molloy, who was also unavoidably withdrawn before the half was out.
Just after Doherty’s departure, a fierce Thornton drive smashed off the inside of the post before eventually drifting away from the target. This was a significant let-off for United, but with Carlton Ubaezuonu adding fresh impetus in the final-third, they finished the opening half on top.
Following a Christopher pull-back, Duggan struck a powerful shot against the woodwork. Heading into stoppage-time, Enda Curran was denied by Chambers’ superb fingertip save and Cabinteely’s dependable number one also tipped over from Sam Warde after Ubaezuonu had a penalty claim turned down.
While the tie remained scoreless at the interval, the momentum was with the westerners as the play resumed. Christopher was making the most of his return to the starting line-up in an energetic display and he continued to test the resolve of the Cabinteely rearguard.
From a distance of 25 yards, the industrious central midfielder shook the outside of the post. Just past the hour, his swerved effort floated marginally off-target and a similar strike pressed Chambers into action on 65 minutes.
However, United suffered a potentially fatal blow just two minutes later. Left-back Ludden had already been booked by referee Alan Carey when he committed a foul deep inside his own half.
This resulted in a second yellow card for the defender and consequently ensured his side were under the cosh in a frantic conclusion. Having gone close to breaking the deadlock on several occasions, United now had their backs to the wall against their pumped-up hosts.
To their credit, the Galway men dug deep in the face of mounting pressure by Cabinteely. Their opponents launched a series of crosses into the penalty area, but Horgan and his back-four generally stood up to the challenge.
Though the home team claimed handball after Warde blocked a Conor Keeley effort, the appeals were quickly waved away. When Horgan smothered from Shane Barnes late on, United appeared more than content to settle for a draw.
Yet, there was high drama in the ninth and final minute of stoppage-time. Due to an injury picked up by Cabinteely’s Kevin Knight, the game went well beyond the four minutes of additional time that were initially advertised.
The visitors were awarded a free-kick wide on the left from which Christopher sent in an inswinging cross and the flight of the ball caught out everyone, including the goalkeeper, as it sailed over his head and inside the far post to send the Utd bench into rapture.
CABINTEELY: C Chambers; M Byrne, C Keeley, J Carlin, K Knight (A Aspil 97); J Connolly, D Thornton; S Kinsella (K Marty Waters 57), P Fox, K Dalton; L Clucas (S Barnes 57).
GALWAY UNITED: K Horgan; J Lynch, K Farragher, K Brouder, M Ludden; S Christopher, S Duggan, S Warde (M Nugent 79); M Place, E Curran (W Waweru 79), S Doherty (T Molloy 27 (C Ubaezuonu 42)).
Referee: A Carey.