Late agony for United as long wait for win in Sligo continues

Sligo Rovers 2

Galway United  1

Patrick Flaherty at The Showgrounds

THE Western Derby is always a great source of emotions for fans of both clubs, and the latest edition didn’t disappoint either, as the 80 or so Galway supporters who travelled up the N17 to Sligo, went from the highs of euphoric celebration, to the lows of a last minute Sligo winner, knowing well the loss effectively finished their season.

United went into the tie realising a win was the only option if they were kick-start a comeback for European qualification, and despite an early second half Gary Shanahan goal giving the Tribesmen the lead, two late strikes from Rafa Cretaro and Achille Campion sealed all three points for the home side, leaving Tommy Dunne’s men with little to play for in their final ten games.

In an effort to bring a new lease of life into his side that had lost its last two outings, Dunne made five changes to the team that had faced Bray Wanderers, with changes in all lines from keeper to striker, the Utd boss hoping the revamp would help reinvigorate their season.

Sligo began the game the brightest early on when John Russell received the ball on the edge of the box, prior to finding Rafa Cretaro, who darted along the end line and squared it back to an onrushing Liam Martin, resulting in Conor Winn having to react quickly to parry the winger’s powerful shot to safety.

Soon after, Cretaro was to the fore again as he managed to find space just outside the Galway box, before letting off a bullet, with the Galway defence looking anxious as the ball flew past them and going agonisingly wide.

To top off a trio of Sligo chances, Russell played a fine free kick towards the head of Gary Boylan, but his effort went well over the crossbar with the goals at his mercy.

Following that spell of dominance, United slowly began to work their way back into the encounter, with both Conor Melody and Gary Shanahan looking menacing down the channels, as they linked up well with Marc Ludden to cause Sligo problems.

Their first real chance of note came on the half hour mark when Ludden darted down the left wing and found the feet of Melody, who put in an inch perfect cross towards the head of Gary Shanahan, but Liam Martin jumped highest to beat the Limerick man in the air and make a vital clearance.

As the game entered the final moments of the first half, both sides had chances to break the deadlock, the first going the way of Liam Martin, who would surely have finished a cross from Daniel Kearns only for Armin Agonovic making a vital clearance.

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