Lacklustre United bow out of FAI Cup with a whimper

Bohemian FC 2

Galway United 0

The 25th anniversary of Galway United’s only time to lift the FAI Cup passed with a whimper on Friday night when Tommy Dunne’s side bowed out of this year’s competition at the first hurdle, their worst performance of the season seeing them bow out at the hands of Bohemians.

It is now just one win from six games for a United side suffering a wretched slump in form, and we’ll see what they are really made of when Sligo Rovers visit Eamonn Deacy Park this Sunday (3pm) for the second Connacht derby of the season.

United manager Tommy Dunne admitted his side lacked composure and concentration on Friday night, but worse than that, there was also an absence of fight, of desire, of urgency, and the only argument with the scoreline will come from the home side, who will rightly point out they should have won by more.

The hosts took the lead in the 10th-minute with an Andrex-soft goal and wrapped up the tie in the 54th minute from the penalty spot. Yes, there was still plenty of time for United to get back into the game after Mark Quigley had doubled the Bohs lead just after half-time, but given their effort – or lack of it – on the night, there was never a chance of that happening.

There might be a question mark too over the visitors’ tactics, showing a little too much respect for their hosts. Bohs were there for the taking: they were massively short on confidence, and had failed to score in their previous seven games, but rather than go for the jugular, Dunne opted for a more cautious approach, playing Vinny Faherty as a lone striker, with Eric Foley tucked in between the league’s top scorer and the United midfield.

In fairness, the absence of both Enda Curran and Padraic Cunningham through injury did force Dunne’s hand a little, leaving him with just one other experienced striker in Ruairi Keating, who has yet to hit peak form.

Young striker Andrew Connolly also started on the bench, but given his displays for the U-19 side this season, it can only be a matter of time before he gets a chance in the first-team, and with Dunne questioning some of his players after the game on Friday, that chance may not be too far away.

“We got what we deserved, and only for our goalkeeper it could have been a lot worse. We just weren’t at it, we weren’t at the races, we didn’t get going, didn’t play, didn’t create enough chances, and it’s not good enough.

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