Walsh’s double fires United to crucial win over City

Cork City 1

By Mike Rafferty at Eamonn Deacy Park

ON an occasion when he joined Kevin Cassidy on a record 368 appearances for Galway United, Stephen Walsh scored twice to give his side a massive home win at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night and, in the process, moved his side out of the bottom two in the Premier Division table.

In one of two changes made by manager John Caulfield, Walsh started up top while Evan Watts was called up to replace Brendan Clarke in goal and both played a significant part in a contest where Galway United registered a first league win in 12 games.

This was a contest which was all about the result. Performance didn't matter either, but it was an occasion where the home side worked really hard  as they scored two goals for the first time in seven games.

John Caulfield had spoken earlier in the week about the difficulty the team had in scoring goals, but two in the opening half of this encounter offered some solace. The contrast in playing patterns was evident from the offset as the home side continued their direct style, with Walsh, Hickey and McGuinness the focus.

Bottom of the table Cork were more focused on going through the channels with striker Seanie Maguire usually the target. Indeed, the former international showed that he has lost none of his talent or ability with an impressive performance.

United's predicament and standing in the table certainly gave a sense of urgency to proceedings as they buzzed busily about the park, with Jimmy Keohane and Aaron Bolger trying to keep them on the front foot. An early Keohane corner saw Walsh flick a header wide at the near post, before Keohane brought a save from Cork City goalkeeper and Galway native Conor Brann. Watts too had some routine duties to deal with, including a diving stop to keep out a Maguire effort.

The home breakthrough arrived on 17 minutes when a free kick by Keohane from half way was flicked on by Patrick Hickey and with the defence exposed, Walsh had the simplest of finishes to knock the ball over the line for a 1-0 advantage.

Walsh then set up a shooting chance for Killian Brouder, but the central defender volleyed over. Despite not having won away from home throughout the league season, Cork certainly went chasing the game and Alex Nolan and Maguire were not far off target with efforts on goal.

The tempo of the game changed. The home side appeared slow in their deliberations, as Cork through McLoughlin, Nolan, Maguire and Kiernan gained the upper hand. Despite that, the home defensive structure remained solid until the 42nd minute when Alex Nolan was allowed to make ground unchallenged from midfield, before letting fly with a stunning right footed effort from about 25 metres to tie up matters.

Pictured: Galway United's Stephen Walsh winning this duel against Fiacre Kelleher of Cork City during Friday's Premier Division tie at Eamonn Deacy Park. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.