Galway United off to a flier thanks to McCarthy strike

Cork City 0

Galway United 1

Keith Kelly at Turners Cross

WHEN the final whistle went in Turners Cross on Friday night, Conor Kearns turned and ran into the outstretched arms of the band of 80 or so Galway United fans in gathered behind his goal at the St Anne’s End of the ground.

Ed McCarthy may have scored the only goal of the game played in front of a crowd of just udner 5,000 people, but the reason that proved to be the winner was down to Kearns, who made a number of saves that, had they occurred in the Premier League in England, would have Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and the rest drooling over them on Match of the Day.

He pulled off two point-blank saves late in the first-half after McCarthy had given United the lead; and then, with United’s backs to the wall after the harsh dismissal on a second yellow card of Wilson Waweru in the 50th minute, he again proved to be a brilliant last line of defence for the visitors.

It meant that United won in Cork for the first time in 1993, and also softened the cough of a promotion rival who went into the game brimming with confidence after a 6-0 thrashing of Bray Wanderers the previous week.

The home side were unchanged from that game, which meant that Ruairi Keating was up against the side he scored nine times for last season. As for United, John Caulfield opted to hand debuts to three of his new signings, with Diego Portilla partnering Killian Brouder in the heart of defence; Manu Dimas playing as a target man; while McCarthy started on the right side of midfield.

Portilla and Keating were involved in the first talking point after just four minutes, the former United man going down in a heap under pressure from United’s Spaniard. Referee Eoghan O’Shea was having none of it, waving play on, and Portilla hulked over Keating to tell him exactly what he thought of the City man’s histrionics.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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