Loughrea upset the odds with a shock win over West United

By  Mike Rafferty

ON a weekend when all three of the Galway League’s participants were blown out of the water in FAI Junior Cup action, bottom side Loughrea brought hope to all optimists with a stunning away win over second placed West United in the Premier League.

In First Division action, West Coast United failed to close the gap on the new leaders Renmore, when they lost by the odd goal in three, while MacDara didn’t exactly get matters all their own way before eventually seeing off Ramblers and joining Bohemians B at the summit of Division Three.

Premier League

West United 0

Loughrea 3

For some time Loughrea have being playing well without getting the necessary rewards. However, at South Park on Sunday morning, they took all their frustrations out on Premier Division title chasing West United with a comprehensive and merited victory.

Playing in the top flight for the first time, this was their first ever win and was achieved in a convincing manner. Maybe high flying West were somewhat complacent, but the outcome could have been even more emphatic if the visitors had taken a larger percentage of chances created.

However, Loughrea had a fair share of good fortune for their opening two goals as both were the results of deflections. They broke the deadlock in the opening half when a Pat Nagle free kick from outside the box took a detour off the defensive wall to leave goalkeeper Aaron Connolly wrong footed for a 1-0 interval advantage.

While older brother Pat might be making his mark across channel with Mansfield Town in the goal scoring stakes, younger siblings Thomas and Paul Hoban are obviously equally proficient in the art of finishing as they added goals two and three on the resumption.

Again, a deflection was a crucial factor as a Thomas Hoban shot from the edge of the box struck a defender on its way to the net, before Paul Hoban sealed the points with the third after latching on to a Darren Creaven pass and firing past Connolly.

The wins leaves Loughrea sharing the basement with Salthill Devon and Corrib Rangers and next Sunday they face the Westside outfit in a real six pointer. Meanwhile, West United have the perfect incentive to resurrect their season when they travel to face leaders Athenry on Saturday (3pm).

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