Galway Utd bow out of FAI Cup with a whimper

Date Published: 06-Jun-2011

Dundalk 4

Galway United 1

Keith Kelly

A heavy defeat, a couple of injuries and a red card – not the most productive day for Galway United in Oriel Park on Sunday as they were dumped out of the FAI Cup at the first hurdle by a superior Dundalk side missing a number of players and who never got out of third gear.

On the one hand it is good not to have the distraction of the Cup, allowing Sean Connor and his side to concentrate on the more important matter of maintaining the club’s Premier Division status, yet it is disappointing that United’s campaign has ended at such an early stage in the 20th anniversary year of their one and only success in the competition.

Dundalk’s victory completed a 2-0 win for Louth clubs over Galway sides in the FAI Cup, after Drogheda United’s 4-0 hammering of Mervue United on Friday night, and with Salthill Devon surprisingly being dumped out by Sheriff YC on the same night, it means Galway’s interest in this year’s Cup lasted less than 48 hours.

“It is a bad weekend for football in Galway, and you have to look now with all three Galway teams being out of the Cup, maybe it is about time we asked the question if there are good enough players to warrant three teams in the League, and I think the answer is ‘no’,” was United manager Sean Connor’s frank assessment after the game on Sunday.

The United manager was in no mood to pull punches on Sunday, admitting his side put in a “poor performance” and deserved to lose, and he will have a job on his hands to lift spirits ahead of Friday’s League game with Bray Wanderers.

As it stands, United’s worst ever run of defeats came in the 1995/96 season when they lost 11 straight League games on the bounce, as well as losing in the FAI Cup during that run to Waterford United. Their

current run is 10 straight League defeats, and Sunday’s loss in the Cup, so the side are 90 minutes away from equalling a record no-one would welcome.

United weathered some early pressure on a wet and miserable afternoon on Sunday before hitting the front on 13 minutes through Alan Murphy, but the home side struck twice to take a half-time lead, and then wrapped up the tie with two goals in three minutes late on to put a somewhat undeserved gloss on the scoreline.

The tales of woe for United don’t start and end with the scoreline, however, as the two starting Kellys suffered different fates that rules both out of this Friday’s League clash with Bray Wanderers. Midfielder Sean Kelly was stretchered off after the fourth Dundalk goal with a splint around his right leg, while full-back Shaun Kelly joined him earlier than planned in the dressing room after been booked twice in the last 10 minutes for fouls on Mark Quigley.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentiinel.