Goalkeeper Ryan to the rescue with a string of saves against Cabinteely

Cabinteely 1

WINNING at your best is one thing but going out and eking out a win in a game where you rarely threaten is something Galway United have always struggled to accomplish, but on Sunday afternoon they did just that, in following up their best performance of the season with a display that never flattered but all the same resulted in the three points heading west.

Goals from Robbie Williams and Marc Ludden gave United a 2-0 lead and despite conceding in quite bizarre circumstances with two minutes remaining, they managed to hold off a determined Cabinteely outfit who looked like scoring on almost every jaunt forward.

United, to their credit, began the game well when Alan Murphy picked out Gary Shanahan in the corner before the Limerick man flashed a ball across goal, Eoin McCormack read it well but skied it over with the goals at his mercy on seven minutes.

However a minute later United would take the lead when Ryan Connolly looped in a menacing free that wasn’t properly cleared allowing defender Robbie Williams to bag his first goal in the maroon jersey when he blasted it into the bottom left corner in a crowded box.

Sadly, it was one way traffic from here as the home side created six clear cut chances in a half hour period of utter dominance, as Shane Keegan’s men struggled to get their passing game together that had worked so well against UCD.

The five-man midfield worked wonders in neutralising the threat posed by the students but wasn’t as effective against Eddie Gormley’s side, who were happy to hoof it right over the crowded midfield knowing well they had the pacey wingers to cause trouble.

The first of these attempts came to Joe Doyle who really should have done better when shooting just wide of the net on 16 minutes, while on 25 minutes, another ball over the top left Luke Glucas with a one-on-one chance only for Tadgh Ryan to show great bravery by coming off his line to make a crucial save.

Stephen Walsh has been United’s saviour on more than one occasion this season and again he was called into action five minutes later as Karl Byrne played a smart pass into the path of Doyle but before he could turn to shoot from close range, the Galway native was there to make a crucial tackle.

After soaking up wave after wave of pressure from their Dublin hosts, United would double their lead on 39 minutes with a rare venture forward as McCormack crossed from the left wing directly to the right wing for Gary Shanahan, who duly slotted it back goal wards where Marc Ludden was waiting to poach his second goal in three appearance and leave United 2-0 up at the break.

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