Galway United concede injury-time equaliser in the RSC
Tribesmen pay the price for failing to make first-half dominance count against basement side
Galway United hearts were broken in the RSC on Friday night as the home side bagged an equaliser six minutes into injury time with what was the last kick of the game as the sides finished level at 1-1
A Killian Brouder header two minutes before half-time looked to have given the visitors all three points, but substitute Dean McMenemy got on the end of a corner to the back post to force the ball home.
United were utterly dominant in the opening half, and should have had the game wrapped up by the break, but l Waterford improved in the second-half, and with only a goal in it, they were still in the game, and in the end, they punished United for not punishing them.
United's captain, Jimmy Keohane, returned after missing the last two games through injury to take his place on the bench, where he was joined by Lee Devitt and Frantz Pierrot in two of three changes from the side beaten by Dundalk a week earlier.
The third change was the absence entirely of Arthur Parker, who was out with a knock picked up in training on Thursday, as Connor Barratt, Stephen Walsh, and Al-Amin Kazeem all came in to the starting XI.
United edged a thriller by the odd goal in seven when the side met in Eamonn Deacy Park back in mid-March, and they were looking to avoid becoming the first side to lose to the Blues this season.
Jon Daly had stepped in as assistant manager with the Tribesmen last summer after ill-health forced Ollie Horgan to step down, but he was appointed Waterford manager in November, and he came into the game under serous pressure as Waterford - who only stayed up last year after winning the promotion/relegation play-off final, a fate United avoided on goal difference alone - had taken just four points from their opening 11 games and were starting to be cut adrift at the foot of the table after last weekend's 2-0 defeat away to Sligo Rovers.
They started like a team low on confidence, though maybe that should be repackaged as United utterly dominated the opening half: the game was barely 90 seconds old when Waterford goalkeeper Arlo Doherty had to sprint off his line to smother an effort from Ed McCarthy, setting the tone for the opening 45 minutes.
Dave Hurley sent a 20-yard volley narrowly wide after a Kris Twardek cross was poorly cleared by Waterford two minutes later as United as good as set-up camp just outside the Blues' box.
Twardek got in behind the defence in the 12th minute and sent an inviting ball across the face of goal, but there was no United man on hand to tap home from close range. It was the same story four minutes later when Barratt got to the byline before playing a lateral pass, but again there was no United player attacking the space in front of Doherty's goal.
It is hard to recall a top-flight game away from home in which United were so utterly dominant in, but they -didn't get the pay-off in terms of clear-cut chances, and as the half wore on, concern grew that the visitors would not have their superiority reflected on the scoreboard.
That was addressed two minutes before the break when Dave Hurley sent United's eighth corner of the half to the back-post, where Killian Brouder bullied his way past static defenders to power a header home.
The half-time whistle two minutes later was greeted with a smattering of boos from the home supporters, and it was no surprise that the home side hooked both starting central midfielder at half-time as they were mere spectators in the opening 45 minutes.
Evan Watts was another spectator, the United keeper not having a single save to make in the first-half in which the home side failed to register a single effort on goal. He finally saw some action on the hour mark when Dean McMenemy - one of those introduced at the break - whipped in a free-kick from deep on the left towards the near post, but Watts got down well to save.
Daly made the last throw of the dice in the 64th minute, making his final three permitted substitutions, and the home side were better in the second-half, but coming from such a low base, it was faint praise.
That said, at just a goal down, they were still well in the game, and they almost caught United cold on an end-to-end counter-attack in the 72nd minute.
Trae Bailey-Coyle led the breakout down the right wing, the ball moving between a couple more players before being pulled across the 18-yard line for another substitute, Tommy Lonergan, but he fired over.
The third of the trio of new faces went even closer three minutes later, Conor Noonan finding himself unmarked about 10 yards out as he drilled a shot goalwards, but Barratt was on hand to block it on the line.
All of a sudden, United were the ones under major pressure. Padraig Amond saw one shot blocked for a corner; and another taken off the line by Aaron Bolger as the home side grew both in desperation, and confidence.
Wasiri Williams was introduced to bolster a United defence that expanded to a back five, but giving up a midfielder for that conceded midfield space to the home side and invited pressure, which Waterford duly obliged with.
United looked to have ridden out the storm, but Waterford launched one last attack, winning a corner which nsaw all 22 players cramped into the United penalty area, and McMenemy came good through a sea of bodies to nick an equaliser, and a point.
Waterford FC: Doherty; Cann, Long, Mahon; Houston (Bailey-Coyle 64), Glenfield (Noonan 64), Barrett (McMenemy h-t), Heeney (McLaughlin h-t), Couto; Amond, Carty (Lonbergan 64).
Galway United: Watts; Barratt, Facchinieri, Brouder, Kazeem; Bolger, Wolfe (Williams 84); Twardek (Keohane 76), Hurley, McCarthy (Lomboto 76); Walsh (Pierrot 76).
Referee: Paul Norton (Dublin).