United's amateurs give professional performance in defeat to Bohemians
Date Published: {J}
Bohemians 2
Daire Walsh
Galway United’s woes continued in Dalymount Park last Friday evening, as goals in either half from Christy Fagan and Killian Brennan were enough to condemn the league’s bottom side to their 16th straight league defeat.
Sean Connor’s side went into this game with good recent history against Bohemians, particularly at the Phisboro venue, but Pat Fenlon’s men appear to have consigned the apparent Indian Sign that the Tribesmen held over the 2009 League Champions to the past.With a number of players having left the club in the week that preceded this game, United were really stretched in terms of bodies for their trip to the capital, a fact underlined by the inclusion of just three names out of a possible seven on their substitutes list.
They were able to welcome recent recruit from Mervue, Eric Browne, into their starting line-up though, and he immediately linked up with Paul Sinnott – who, along with Bobby Ryan, was the only professional player to feature on Friday – at the heart of the Galway defence.
All of these factors, along with their barren run of form, suggested that Galway were in for a tough evening, and their chances of getting something out of the game were hit within the opening 75 seconds, when the in-form Fagan received the ball inside the area from a long throw-in by full-back Mark O'Reilly, and expertly steered his effort past young ‘keeper Conor Winn.
Winn was taking over from Greg Fleming between the sticks for United, and he did look slightly shaky early on, as he was almost deceived by a cross from Ollie Cahill seven minutes in but, fortunately for him, his indecision under the high ball went unpunished.
To be fair to Winn though, he did settle well into his role, and he showed his manager, as well as the travelling Galway supporters, that he is more than capable of taking over from Fleming as first-choice ‘keeper.
For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.