One goal win fails to reflect Galway United’s superiority

Galway United 3

Limerick FC 2

DON’T let the final score fool you: it might suggest a close game, but this was anything but as Galway United cruised to the most emphatic of single goal victories you can get in Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night.

The home side were utterly dominant throughout, and the one downside was the failure to take more of the chances they created – 23 efforts on goal, 12 of which were on target against a Limerick side that even at this early stage looks doomed to relegation.

United are just one place above them in the table but they showed plenty on Friday night to suggest the comfort of a mid-table finish is well within their grasp, as long as they tighten up in defence and become more ruthless in front of goal.

They could have taken the lead before 10 seconds had elapsed when Limerick’s kick-off was worked back to goalkeeper Conor O’Donnell, whose clearance was blocked by Padraic Cunningham. The ball broke for Jake Keegan’s but his looping effort sailed narrowly wide of the far post.

Cunningham was handed his first league start for the club and he could have marked it with a first-half hat-trick. He was denied a number of times by O’Donnell, and while sharper finishing would have given the ’keeper no chance, the Headford native will only get to that stage with games under his belt.

What he did do was utterly torment the Limerick back-four along with Enda Curran, a front-two partnership that dovetailed brilliantly and brought to mind the days when Donnie Farragher and Jumbo Brennan forged a brilliant understanding up front for United.

It was Curran who fired the home side into the lead in the 25th minute from the penalty spot after Jason Hughes dragged down Keegan in the box, but despite not having a single shot on target in the first-half, the visitors went into the break on level terms.

Dean Clarke broke on a counter-attack down the right in the 40th minute and drove a low cross into the box, and Kevin Garcia could only look on in horror as his sliding intervention only directed the ball past Ger Hanley.

That goal lifted the visitors, and for the five or so minutes either side of the break they enjoyed a decent spell of possession, but United soon regained control but passed up a string of chances to make it count on the scoreboard.

Full match report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.