Galway United 3-1 Limerick FC
A CLINICAL GALWAY United side secured a major boost in their battle against relegation with their biggest win of the season.
They made the most of limited chances to punish a Limerick side who were unable to take advantage of their superior possession.
Galway had to soak up a lot of pressure in the opening half hour but just when it seemed that Limerick would make their dominance count, Shane Keegan’s men hit them for two goals in a three-minute burst.
Their top scorer Ronan Murray produced one of the finest goals seen at Eamonn Deacy Park for a long time when he took a pass from Marc Ludden and let fly from 30 yards, looping it into the top right corner.
And before Limerick could recover, Padraic Cunningham doubled the lead, when he turned neatly in the box and scored in the bottom left corner with Limerick goalkeeper Brendan Clarke managing to get a hand to it.
But Limerick should have hit the front earlier when debutant Joe Crowe, on loan from Norwich City, set up Rodrigo Tosi but he blazed over from close range when it seemed easier to add to his 10-goal tally for the campaign.
Chiedozie Ogbene also had a good chance to hit the target for Limerick but he hesitated and Galway defender Lee Grace managed to deflect the danger.
Limerick piled on the pressure after the restart, buoyed by a sizeable travelling support in the crowd of 1,471, but Tosi’s header after 57 minutes was easily dealt with by Galway goalkeeper Conor Winn.
Ballinasloe native Eoin McCormack wrapped up the issue eight minutes from time when he turned inside two defenders after chasing a long delivery from Ludden.
There was a small bit of consolation going into stoppage time for Limerick when Garbhan Coughlan scored from a tight angle inside the box.
Galway United: Conor Winn; Colm Horgan, Lee Grace, Stephen Folan, Marc Ludden; Kevin Devaney, Alex Byrne, David Cawley, Gavan Holohan (Conor Melody 87), Ronan Murray (Gary Shanahan 89); Padraic Cunningham (Eoin McCormack 76).
Limerick FC: Brendan Clarke; Joe Crowe, Tony Whitehead, Robbie Williams, David O’Connor; Dean Clarke (Garbhan Coughlan 60), Bastien Hery, Shane Duggan, Lee-J Lynch (Stephen Kenny 82); Chiedozie Ogbene, Rodrigo Tosi (John O’Flynn 59).
Referee: Neil Doyle (Dublin).
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