Dundalk 0
Galway United 0
A BUMPER CROWD turned to out to see Dundalk’s returning champions at Oriel Park but the point gained from a forgettable scoreless draw could prove vital in keeping Galway United in the Premier Division next year.
The phrase ‘after the lord mayor’s show’ springs to mind when looking back over a game that never ignited. Dundalk had already wrapped up the title seven days ago and for Tommy Dunne’s Tribesmen, this is a good point on the road in the battle to stave off relegation.
Stephen Kenny made five changes to the side that clinched the league in Tallaght last Friday, with fringe men Gabriel Sava, Shane Grimes, John Mountney and Sean Maguire all handed starts. Talisman Richie Towell, also the club’s top goalscorer this term by some distance, missed out altogether through illness.
The opening 30 minutes passed off without incident of any note. It was after the half-hour mark that the first real opening arrived. John Mountney’s thunderous drive had Conor Winn beaten all ends up but it cannoned off the post and away to safety.
At this stage, Galway were still very much in the game. They threatened when a neat Ryan Connolly ball caught out the defence and Jake Keegan raced clear but his shot was parried away by Sava.
Maguire went down under a challenge from Colm Horgan and perhaps should have had a penalty shortly before the break. Referee Tomas Connolly wasn’t interested though and protestations weren’t too vociferous either.
Connolly tested Sava again before the break and after it, Tommy Dunne’s team continued to have the better chances in a game of few. American striker Keegan again made Sava pull off a save with a shot from a narrow angle and Connolly fired an effort straight at the Dundalk stopper.
The closest the home side went in the second period came when substitute Daryl Horgan, on for Maguire and facing his brother Colm on the flank, showed superb close control to cut inside and unleash a rocket of a shot. Like Mountney’s in the first half, Winn
was beaten but the post was not.
This was no classic but Galway were deserving of a good point from their perspective. The majority of the 3,122 inside Oriel Park won’t care much. Their work, in the league at least, is done.
Dundalk: Gabriel Sava, John Mountney (Sean Gannon, 46), Paddy Barratt, Andy Boyle, Shane Grimes, Chris Shields, Stephen O’Donnell, Ronan Finn (David McMillan, 77), Sean Maguire (Daryl Horgan, 62), Darren Meenan, Ciaran Kilduff.
Galway United: Conor Winn, Colm Horgan, Sam Oji, Paul Sinnott, Marc Ludden, Tomi Saarelma (Conor Melody, 87), Stephen Walsh, David O’Leary, Ryan Connolly, Gary Shanahan, Jake Keegan.
Referee: Tomas Connolly