Galway United rescue a deserved point against Rovers in dreadful conditions
SHAMROCK ROVERS II 1
GALWAY UNITED 1
Daire Walsh in Tallaght
DESPITE seeing his side rescue a point from their Airtricity League First Division opener against Shamrock Rovers II in Tallaght last Saturday, Alan Murphy’s mind was on more pressing matters in the aftermath of the contest.
So treacherous were the conditions at the south Dublin venue that several of his players had to be treated for hypothermia. It was a similar case for their opponents on the day and with Storm Jorge in full effect for the duration of the action, the Galway United manager questioned the wisdom of allowing the game to go ahead.
“I think we could have won the game. We had enough chances, but the conditions were horrendous. We’re looking at players out on the pitch that are wet. Dean [O’Halloran] had to come off when we had no sub to bring on. Probably in hindsight, it’s an error playing the game really,” Murphy said.
“At half-time, I thought there was a possibility [it could be called off]. Put it this way, when you have to take a player [Killian Brouder] off with hypothermia at half-time after the other centre-half [Josh Smith] had to come off earlier with an injury, you don’t do that unless things are really serious. I think both teams will probably take a point now and everyone is okay.”
Following the postponement of their scheduled home encounter with Athlone Town seven days earlier, United finally kick-started what should prove to be a hectic 2020 campaign.
While they enjoyed the majority of possession and chances, the Tribesmen looked set to fall short when Brandon Kavanagh’s long-distance free kick got the better of Kevin Horgan on 69 minutes. However, Conor Barry was on hand to steer home Conor Melody’s late cross to secure a share of the spoils for the visitors.
Alongside the aforementioned Smith and O’Halloran, Timmy Molloy, Enda Curran and new club captain Shane Duggan were handed debuts in the United starting line-up. Additionally, Kevin Farragher made his competitive bow off the bench.
Given the elements were in their favour, it was entirely unsurprising that Galway saw so much of the ball throughout the opening period. Barry offered a potent threat down the left-flank and he unleashed a number of enticing deliveries into the Rovers box.
He was close to releasing Curran on goal in the 12th-minute, only for Rovers defender Sean Callan to nip in with a vital interception. O’Halloran was also picked out inside the area on the first-quarter mark, but Callan once again held his nerve to block out Galway’s path to goal.
Brouder’s header off a subsequent Barry corner was also cleared off the line before referee Kevin O’Sullivan awarded a free to the hosts. Even though the supply line to the Rovers attack was limited, Thomas Oluwa was posing a number of problems for the United back-four.
He broke at pace down the left hand-side on 41 minutes and smashed a firm strike against the far post. The rebound fell kindly for Hoops wing-back Alex Dunne, but his resulting effort cleared the United crossbar.
Murphy was immediately forced into making his first substitution of the tie – Farragher taking the place of the injured Smith. Stephen Christopher toe-poked just past the target in stoppage-time, which ensured the teams remained deadlocked at the midway point.
With the inclement weather beginning to take its toll, Maurice Nugent took over from Brouder on the resumption. For their part, Rovers introduced Dylan Duffy for Peter Adigun and also replaced Oluwa with Sinclair Armstrong just four minutes into the second period.
Before that, Barry had narrowly missed out on a connection to an incisive Christopher delivery. United were generally coping well against the breeze, with Duggan and Molloy developing a good understanding in central midfield.
Nevertheless, it continued to be a rather scrappy affair with clear-cut opportunities coming at a premium. Barry once more failed to control a pinpoint ball into the Rovers danger zone, this time from Melody with his first meaningful involvement as a substitute.
They were left to rue this missed chance when Rovers eventually opened the scoring at the opposite end. Kavanagh tried his luck from distance and though former Hoops netminder Horgan got his fingertips to his set-piece, it floated into the back of the net.
Faced with the prospect of an away reversal on their first day out, there was a notable step up in intensity by United in the final-quarter.
Duggan fired just over on 75 minutes and Rovers custodian Leon Pohls produced a spectacular save off O’Halloran’s goal-bound drive.
Their persistence ultimately paid off with five minutes remaining in normal time. Melody embarked on a mazy run down the right-wing and his final ball was met by Barry’s first-time finish to ensure United gained some reward from a tough assignment.
The Tribesmen will again be on their travels on Friday when they take on Wexford FC in Ferrycarrig Park (7.45pm).
SHAMROCK ROVERS II: L Pohls; C Omorehiomwan, S Callan, A Wells; A Dunne, B Kavanagh, S Brennan, D Nugent, P Adigun (D Duffy 46); T Oluwa (S Armstrong 49), D Williams (J Tallon 77).
GALWAY UNITED: K Horgan; J Lynch, J Smith (K Farragher 42), K Brouder (M Nugent 46), C Ubaezunou; S Duggan, T Molloy; S Christopher, D O’Halloran, C Barry; E Curran (C Melody 66).
REFEREE: K O’Sullivan (Cork).