Galway United win on the road to climb into top half of the table

Things were looking grim for the visitors when they found themselves 2-0 down after just 18 minutes, both the Drogheda goals coming from corner-kicks.

Francely Lomboto, one of six changes to the side form Friday's win over Derry City, kick--tarte the fightback with a goal in the 21st minute before second-half substitutes Kris Tweardek and Axel Piesold found the goals that fired the Tribesmen to the win.

John Caulfield made six changes to his side from the dramatic win over Derry City on Friday night, with match-winner Frantz Pierrot coming in to make his first start for the side, with fellow used subs from Friday night, Lomboto, Ed McCarthy, Wasiri Williams, and Mattie Wolfe, also starting; with Al-Amin Kazeem the sixth change. Twardek, Arthur Parker, Lee Devitt, and Stephen Walsh were all on the bench; while Jimmy Keohane and Aaron Bolger dropped out of the match-day squad entirely.

The changes saw United make a change in formation, going with a back-three of Williams, Killian Brouder, and Gianfranco Facchinieri, with McCarthy and Kazeem operating as wing-backs.

That was in complete contrast to the home side, with Kevin Doherty staying with the same starting XI from the scoreless draw at home to Bohemians on Friday night, but this one was only scoreless for 145 seconds, before the home side took the lead.

It was simplicity in itself, though will give rise to some post-mortem examinations in the United dressing room in relation to their defending: Brandon Kavanagh swung in a corner from the right, and Mark Doyle met it at the back post to shoot home from no more than a couple of yards out.

Things went from bad to worse for United in the 18th minute when they fell two behind, again from a corner-kick, and almost a carbon copy of the opener.

Kavanagh had sent in a corner from the right which Brouder headed back across the face of goal and almost inside the far post, but thankfully from a United perspective it went out for a corner.

The respite was temporary, however: Kavanagh sent in another deep cross, Doyle once again got on the end of it, and while this time his effort was saved by Watts, the ball fell to Jago Godden to fire home.

United needed to get into the game, and quickly, and that's what they did three minutes later. Lomboto had looked busy in the early stages, and he picked up possession from Wolfe. He played a one-two with Pierrot before trying to play the former Drogheda player in, but Pierrot couldn't set his feet.

The ball spun off his heel, and Lomboto was on to it like a flash to hit it first-time from 20 yards, curling a beauty around Luke Dennison and inside his left-hand post.

It settled United, but didn't knock a thing off the home side, who continued to edge possession and play some lovely football. They went close to restoring their two-goal lead in the 27th minute, only for a brilliantly-timed challenge by Connor Barratt to nick the ball off the toe of Doyle as he was about the shoot from close range, the chance coming after Watts did well to deny Warren Davis, who had cut in off the right wing before shooting.

The Tribesmen were looking to hit their hosts on the counter-attack, with Wolfe often the play-maker, but the home wide were smothering the space around Lomboto and Pierrot, whose every touch was roundly booed by the home fans.

They did afford him one cheer, just before the start of the second-half when it was announced he had been substituted, one of two changes United made at the break, with Walsh and Devitt coming in for Pierrot and Kazeem, a pair of changes that surprised nobody.

United had Watts to thank for keeping them in the game twice in the space of less than a minute, the Swansea loanee firstly getting his fingertips to a blistering 15-yard volley from Godden to deflect the shot over the crossbar for a corner in the 57th minute; and then keeping out a Doyle header.

The visitors did have a bit more too them thanks to those half-time changes, but the real difference came with a pair of substitutions on the hour mark.

Twardek and Axel Piesold were introduced to the action, and within eight minutes both had scored to see United go from trailing to 2-1 and looking lost, to leading 3-2 and being utterly dominant.

It was Twardek who was he first to pounce, and barely 20 seconds after he was introduced, latching on to Wolfe's header to get in behind the defence and expertly lifting a shot over the advancing keeper.

If it was a confidence-booster for United, it was a gut-punch for the home side who began to be guilty of some very sloppy play.

The home fans were getting on their back as the sense of unease spread from pitch to terraces, and it only intensified when United completed the comeback to take the lead in the 68th minute. Twardek went from scorer to provider, his dancing feet and gazelle-like stepovers creating the space for him to get away down the right wing.

He found Piesold inside him, and his fellow sub took a touch and dummied the defender before firing across Dennison and inside the far post.

Walsh went close to making the game safe in the 81st minute when Twardek led a break out of defence, United enjoying a 2-on-1 advantage. Twardek drew the covering Bucknor before playing in Walsh on the left, but Dennison came racing off his line to smother the shot, and Piesold fired the rebound wide.

Drogheda threw everything at United in the final minutes but could not find a way through a disciplined United side that completed a perfect Easter weekend.

Drogheda United: Dennison; Quinn (Cruise 75), Keeley, Bolger; Agbaje (Bucknor 57), Godden, O'Brien (inj, Brennan 26), Kane; Doyle (Oluwa 75), Kavanagh, Davis.

Galway United: Watts; Barratt, Williams, Brouder; McCarthy (Twardek 60), Barratt (McCormack 82), Hurley, Kazeem (Devitt h-t); Wolfe; Pierrot (Walsh h-t), Lomboto (Piesold 60).

Referee: Oliver Moran (Dublin).