Player Ratings: Dundalk FC 4 - 1 Galway United

Dundalk FC:

Gabriel Sava (GK): Apart from the goal, which saw him save Connolly’s first effort superbly, the ‘keeper enjoyed a fairly comfortable evening. Not tested very much but dealt with most that came his way. His handling from crosses was particularly steady following an early fumble: 7

Sean Gannon (RB): The Dubliner arguably kept his best league showing until the final game of the season. Wasn’t tested defensively but his endeavours in the attacking half of the pitch were considerable with Kevin Devaney spending more time marking him rather than vice versa: 8

Paddy Barrett (CB): A defender who loves the ball at his feet. Technically very astute as he showed when unleashing a strong shot for Dundalk’s second-goal despite the goalkeeping howler. He was rolled easily by Cunningham in the early moments but otherwise a strong performance: 7

Andy Boyle (CB): Boyle never had to break stride at any stage with any of Galway’s attacking traffic coming down the opposite flank, he was caught cold though for Connolly’s goal in being too laid back. Typically, shrewd with his distribution while also coming close at the other end with efforts on goal: 7

Dane Massey (LB): An easy night for the left-back. He linked well with Horgan as per usual, spending his night high up the pitch. Called into action on one notable occasion covering in behind to prevent Shanahan from having a chance to score: 7

Dean Shiels (CM): A player who has shone on the rare chances that he has been given. His two first-half notches were carbon copies of each other, both nonchalant dinks over the advancing Winn. A star performance from a classy operator and deservedly got a standing ovation upon leaving the pitch: 8

Stephen O’Donnell (CM): The captain’s comeback was fairly uneventful as he sat back and dictated the game with his colleagues doing all of the work ahead of him. Played an hour of competitive football which is crucial ahead of Zenit and Cork City next week: 7

Robbie Benson (CM): Had a goal ruled out in the opening-half for offside but produced a typically battling performance in the Dundalk engine room. There is no such thing as a lost cause with him which allows him to force turnovers in attacking areas. Very clever on the ball too: 8

David McMillan (RM): Playing as an unorthodox right-winger, McMillan did well. He consistently cut inside to make things happen linking up with Benson and leaving the flank free for Shiels and Gannon to gallop into. He looks much more threatening up top though: 7

Ciaran Kilduff (CF): A constant threat in the box if not doing much outside the 18-yard-area. Aganovic and Folan were totally dumbfounded as to how to stop the Kilcock man from getting on the end of crosses. His movement was clever as ever and on another day, he would have filled the net. Got his goal in the end though: 8

Daryl Horgan (LM): Many people’s favourite to pick up the Player of the Season award, the winger gave another excellent performance on a night where Dundalk flooded numbers to attack. His play in the second-half was standard Daryl Horgan as he cut inside and creating opportunities at will: 8

Subs:

Brian Gartland: Introduced for Stephen O’Donnell with just over 20 minutes to play. Cruised to full-time with the minimum of fuss: 6

Georgie Poynton: The u19’s captain was caught out of position as he tried to leave his mark heading towards Conor Winn’s goal on numerous occasions. Neat and tidy in possession though: 6

Ciaran O’Connor: Immediately got on the ball after coming on and introduced further pace. Dynamic and always looked to create. He has a big future at Dundalk: 6

Galway United:

Conor Winn (GK): The former Dundalk man had a night to forget. Conceded a howler as Paddy Barrett scored his third league goal of the season and saw himself pick the ball out of the net on three further occasions: 4

Killian Cantwell (RB): A makeshift full-back, but Cantwell did quite well especially seeing as he was up against the Lilywhites’ star-man in Daryl Horgan. Horgan burned him for pace along the endline at times as Dundalk dominated but a decent showing: 5

Armin Aganovic (CB): The Swede didn’t know whether to stick or twist at times having not gotten a moments peace. With Kilduff preying on his shoulder and Horgan darting inside, Aganovic had a thankless task. Still, none of the goals came from his errors: 5

Stephen Folan (CB): Another Galway player who struggled to match the pace of Dundalk’s play. Each of the first-half goals came through his area of the defence as the defender was left helplessly exposed. Found Kilduff too hot to handle: 5

Colm Horgan (LB): The full-back was another Galway helplessly overrun with Lilywhite bodies on the night. Gannon’s tendency to burst down the right accompanied by McMillan’s darts into central areas saw Horgan left in no man’s land at times. He gives everything that he has, much like his sibling Daryl: 5

Gary Shanahan (RM): Another former Dundalk player in the visiting line-up, Shanahan worked his socks off in giving Cantwell cover to shackle Horgan, but like his colleague on the other wing he was unable to trouble the champions where it mattered: 6

Alex Byrne (CM): The feisty midfielder got through a trojan amount of work in trying to stop the onslaught from the home side. His tenacity in the tackle shut off many avenues but there were just too many gaps to fill. He was unable to make any impact in possession because he was rarely afforded the ball: 6

Paul Sinnott (CM): Galway’s midfield veteran, like many others, was completely overcome by his opponent’s trickery and pace. Pitted against Dean Shiels for most of the evening, Sinnott found the going tough before being replaced by Conor Melody: 5

Kevin Devaney (LM): The winger spent most of the night in the left-back position tracking the determined runs of Sean Gannon. Worked hard in tucking in to help his midfield but was non-existent in attack: 5

Ryan Connolly (CAM): Galway’s best performer on the night. The skipper orchestrated everything that the Tribesmen did well, picking up possession and finding clever passes and scoring their goal. Too bad their offensive ventures were sporadic: 7

Padraic Cunningham (CF): Rolled Barrett wonderfully in the ninth minute to get himself in on Sava but finished weakly. Spent the night feeding off scraps and never threatened to hit the net due to the limited service coming his way: 5

Subs:

Conor Melody: Coped better than Sinnott in terms of curtailing Dundalk’s endless tide of attacks.: 5

Vinny Faherty: Never threatened as the play in general became scrappy towards the end. The introduction of Gartland put a halt to any aspirations Faherty had of scoring at his former home: 5

Jesse Devers: The final Galway replacement made little impact of note: 5