- Trevor Murray
- Sat, May 17 2014
Galway FC welcomed Finn Harps to Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night with their spirits high looking for a third consecutive home win. But Ollie Horgan's men had other plans as they made life difficult for the hosts.
Early on, Tommy Dunne's charges were keen to assert their dominance against a Harps outfit they had dispatched not too long ago in the EA Sports Cup.
And in the 10th minute, the men from the West had the ball in the back of the net after Jake Keegan lobbed Shaun Patton, but the joy was short-lived as the linesman soon flagged for offside.
All in all, it was quite a stop-start affair, and was certainly full of incident - throwing up more than its fair share of talking points. But Galway weren't the only ones attacking as Harps' Josh Mailey was attempting to make a nuisance of himself – producing a decent header on goal in the 27th minute.
And although his effort on goal came to nothing, the signs were there that they could cause problems, especially from set-pieces.
Yet, in the 31st minute the Donegal-based outfit suffered a major set-back when Caoimhin Bonner was shown a straight red card for what appeared to be a studs-up challenge on Ryan Manning.
Galway were boosted by that and began to play with a bit more freedom, yet they simply couldn't find the breakthrough as Horgan's charges defended with vigour and determination – and they employed one or two cynical time-wasting ploys, to boot.
Ryan Manning's blocked effort just before half-time, indicative of their attempts to find the back of the net in vain.
After the restart, Galway continued to press as Manning once more made life difficult for the defenders, but as the match wore on, the visiting side grew in confidence.
In the 50th minute Ruairi Keating produced a terrifically acrobatic effort that had the Deacy Park faithful with their hearts in their mouths, but it flew over the bar. But that was to be a warning sign, as only minutes later they found the back of the net.
Played through by a wonderful through-ball, Keating once more found himself in a great goal-scoring position, and this time he made no mistake to slot the ball through Connor Gleeson's legs.
After that, Harps eventually switched to an uber-defensive stance, as Galway began to launch an all-out assault on their goal.
Derek O' Brien was instrumental to Galway's fightback, although it was never fully assured as Harps defended with confidence – his nutmeg on their left-back to set up a crossing opportunity for Ludden that Faherty connected with was a great example of his never-say-die attitude.
In a dramatic finale, Galway found their way through to grab a point as Paul Sinnot became their saviour in the 91st minute.
No doubt, after a battling, yet disappointing display, Galway will look to bounce back with a win when they travel to St. Colman's Park to face the league's whipping boys, Cobh Ramblers, while Harps will feel disappointed they couldn't hold on for all three points.
Galway FC: Connor Gleeson; Colm Horgan (Vinny Faherty 60), Martin Conneely, Alex Byrne, Marc Ludden; Ryan Connolly, Paul Sinnot, Marty Owens (Gary Shanahan 79), Jake Keegan; Derek O' Brien, Ryan Manning.
Subs not used: Ger Hanley (gk); Cian Fadden, Sean Gavin.
Booked: P Sinnot (13), Connolly (57), Faherty (95).
Finn Harps: Shaun Patton; Caoimhin Bonner, Packie Mailey, Ciaran Coll (Tommy Bonner 79), Keith Cowan; Damien McNulty, Michael Funston, Pat McCann, Ruairi Keating (Paul McVeigh 85); Josh Mailey, Sean McCarron.
Subs not used: Conor Winn (gk), Carel Tiofack, Johnny Bonner, Gareth Harkin, Mark Forker.
Booked: Funston (71), J Mailey (95)
Sent Off: C Bonner (31)
Referee: Eoghan O'Shea
Attendance: 865
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Derek O' Brien (Galway FC)
