Cawley’s bullet helps battling United secure share of spoils

 Limerick FC 1

Galway United 1

A stunning strike from David Cawley five minutes from time rescued yet another draw for Galway United on Friday evening, and while the point is welcome, it was a ninth league game without a win for Shane Keegan’s side.

They probably deserved the point on the balance of play, as they were the better side in the second-half, but it took a moment of pure class from Cawley to grab that point. Gary Shanahan and Colm Horgan linked-up on the right for Horgan to send in a cross.

Tony Whitehead headed clear, but only as far as Cawley, who took a touch and then let rip from 30 yards, arrowing his shot into the top corner.

“Their defender knocked the ball out, I took it down and their lad sold himself a little bit, he showed me inside and I just hit it. I had to hit it, really, there was nothing else on, and just thankful it flew in,” Cawley said after the game.

Keegan had made seven changes from the side that defeated Derry City, but the real comparison was with the league game against St Patrick’s Athletic the previous Friday, and in that regard, there were three changes with Paul Sinnott, Gavan Holohan, and Kevin Devaney all coming into the side in place of Conor Melody, Gary Shanahan, and Jesse Devers.

The home team took the lead in the 33rd minute, and the only surprise was it took them so long to hit the front. Whether it was a lack of confidence or belief, far too many of United’s players were all but spectators in the game – it took them nine minutes to put two passes together in the Limerick half.

The real concern was that a number of them were too pedestrian, in a literal sense – walking back after losing possession, walking forward when an attacking play was crying out for some running off the ball.

Holohan, Alex Byrne, Stephen Folan, and Lee Grace were keeping United in the game, but the dam had to burst, and that was the case in the 33rd minute. The goal was simple in its execution – Lee Lynch floated in a corner from the left, and Robbie Williams rose above Grace to direct a header past Conor Winn.

It could have signalled a goal-fest, but credit to United, they kept battling away and they made it to half-time without conceding a second goal that would have killed the game.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.