Two-goal burst in 90 seconds is decisive for Galway United

Galway United 2

TWO goals in the space of 90 seconds midway through the first-half sealed a deserved, if somewhat nervous, win for Galway United away to Cobh Ramblers on Saturday night.

Strikes from Conor Barry and Eoin McCormack had the visitors cruising, but the loss of central defender, Stephen Walsh, on the half-hour mark saw United lose their hold on the game, and they had to withstand sustained pressure from the home side in the second-half to clinch a win that edges them closer to the play-off places.

New United manager, Alan Murphy, made just one change to the side which defeated Athlone Town the previous week, introducing Robbie Williams for the unfortunate Conor Layng, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a cruciate injury.

However, the introduction of Williams heralded a major switch in tactics from United, who lined out in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Williams employed alongside Alex Byrne as two holding midfielders, a strategy that paid rich dividends.

Walsh was forced off with a cut to his head in the 33rd minute, but Murphy said the central defender should be available for this Friday’s trip to UCD, and if that is the case, a similar set-up can be expected for the clash with the table-toppers.

It was all so different from less than two months ago, when a United side lacking any kind of confidence or belief played out an insipid draw at St Colman’s Park on the June Bank Holiday weekend.

That was in the middle of a six-game run without a win, a bad sequence of results that eventually cost Shane Keegan his job, but the turnaround in approach and attitude from United’s players in just two games since Murphy’s appointment has been refreshing, and the chance of a play-off spot which looked unlikely just three games ago is back on the radar once again.

“It was a tough win, coming down here to Cobh is never easy, 2-0 up and a great start, thought we pressed the game and forced the game as I asked the lads, we were the better side,” Murphy said after the game.

“I thought we were in complete control, we played well, forced the issue, played the game in their half. We were a smart side, and yes, we would have liked more of that same in the second half but it was tough, we were under serious pressure but we ground it out and that’s what needed to be done,” Murphy said.

United were constantly turning the Cobh defenders back towards their own goal, particularly Carlton Ubaezuonu and Barry out wide, and the former set up Ryan Connolly for the first attempt on goal, but his shot in the 8th minute cleared Paul Hunt’s crossbar.

Ubaezuonu and Adam Rooney both went close in the 11th and 17th minutes respectively, before the industrious Barry opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season in the 18th minute.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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