Galway United 0 - 1 Sporting Fingal
Credit:
Conan Byrne's fourth league goal of the season settled a forgettable encounter at Terryland Park as Sporting Fingal's push to secure European football for a second successive season continued apace.
Fingal began on the offensive and were unlucky not to take the lead in the sixth minute when O'Neill picked out Conan Byrne to his right in the penalty area. The winger went for panache rather than power but only succeeded in sending the ball towards Eamon Zayed at the far post; Zayed's shot scuttled across the six yard box and scraped some paint off the post as it zipped wide.
Seven minutes later Ronan Finn tested Barry Ryan from a difficult angle and Liam Buckley's men had the look of a side who would score sooner rather than later, with their fluid 4-3-3 formation posing infinite problems for Galway's more rigid structure.
That structure, though, still held a menace of its own when their battlers were able to break up the Fingal thrusts and only the quality of the final ball at times stopped Karl Sheppard from darting clear on the counter attack. Darren Quigley was eventually made to earn his crust on the half hour when Jamie McKenzie volleyed accurately but the 'keeper was well positioned to save.
Gary O'Neill was the architect again in the 33rd minute, once more finding the raiding Byrne in space but the winger shot hastily from outside the area as centre half Paul Sinnott chased back in a pursuit that never looked like being successful.
Sheppard clipped over the bar after Seamus Conneely had bust a lung to join a breakaway, but the scoreline remained blank at the break, the fourth time that has happened at Terryland Park this year.
For the thirteenth time, though, in this campaign the home side conceded the opening goal, within ten minutes of the restart. As Rhys Meynell and Jamie McKenzie dithered over who would clear the ball, Byrne took advantage of the hesitation and powered forward to the edge of the box before firing goalwards. The shot was powerful but Barry Ryan will be disappointed to have seen it squirm out of his grasp and beyond him.
From there on in, United huffed and puffed but never really threatened to undo the Fingal rearguard. Steven Walsh's header required more power to really test Quigley, while at the other end Lorcan Fitzgerald, Finn, and substitute Glen Crowe all went agonisingly close to increasing Fingal's lead.
With only Rhys Meynell's header over causing any undue worry, the visitors then cruised to the final whistle to record their fifth away win in the league, but they remain in fifth position, a point adrift of in-form Sligo Rovers but with a game in hand.
Galway United: Barry Ryan; Seamus Conneely, Jamie McKenzie, Paul Sinnott, Rhys Meynell; Derek O'Brien, Stephen O'Donnell, Ciaran Foley (Jason Molloy, 62), Gary Curran; Karl Sheppard, Steven Walsh
Subs not used: Liam Grant, Tom King, Philip Reilly, Emmet Shaw.
Sporting Fingal: Darren Quigley; Ger O'Brien, Shaun Maher, Kenny Browne, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Conan Byrne, Shaun Williams, Shane McFaul, Ronan Finn; Eamon Zayed (Ollie Cahill, 80), Gary O'Neill (Glen Crowe, 70). Subs not used: Brendan Clarke, Alan Kirby, Brian Gannon.
extratime Man of the Match: Shaun Williams
Referee: Declan Hanney
Attendance: 679.
Fingal began on the offensive and were unlucky not to take the lead in the sixth minute when O'Neill picked out Conan Byrne to his right in the penalty area. The winger went for panache rather than power but only succeeded in sending the ball towards Eamon Zayed at the far post; Zayed's shot scuttled across the six yard box and scraped some paint off the post as it zipped wide.
Seven minutes later Ronan Finn tested Barry Ryan from a difficult angle and Liam Buckley's men had the look of a side who would score sooner rather than later, with their fluid 4-3-3 formation posing infinite problems for Galway's more rigid structure.
That structure, though, still held a menace of its own when their battlers were able to break up the Fingal thrusts and only the quality of the final ball at times stopped Karl Sheppard from darting clear on the counter attack. Darren Quigley was eventually made to earn his crust on the half hour when Jamie McKenzie volleyed accurately but the 'keeper was well positioned to save.
Gary O'Neill was the architect again in the 33rd minute, once more finding the raiding Byrne in space but the winger shot hastily from outside the area as centre half Paul Sinnott chased back in a pursuit that never looked like being successful.
Sheppard clipped over the bar after Seamus Conneely had bust a lung to join a breakaway, but the scoreline remained blank at the break, the fourth time that has happened at Terryland Park this year.
For the thirteenth time, though, in this campaign the home side conceded the opening goal, within ten minutes of the restart. As Rhys Meynell and Jamie McKenzie dithered over who would clear the ball, Byrne took advantage of the hesitation and powered forward to the edge of the box before firing goalwards. The shot was powerful but Barry Ryan will be disappointed to have seen it squirm out of his grasp and beyond him.
From there on in, United huffed and puffed but never really threatened to undo the Fingal rearguard. Steven Walsh's header required more power to really test Quigley, while at the other end Lorcan Fitzgerald, Finn, and substitute Glen Crowe all went agonisingly close to increasing Fingal's lead.
With only Rhys Meynell's header over causing any undue worry, the visitors then cruised to the final whistle to record their fifth away win in the league, but they remain in fifth position, a point adrift of in-form Sligo Rovers but with a game in hand.
Galway United: Barry Ryan; Seamus Conneely, Jamie McKenzie, Paul Sinnott, Rhys Meynell; Derek O'Brien, Stephen O'Donnell, Ciaran Foley (Jason Molloy, 62), Gary Curran; Karl Sheppard, Steven Walsh
Subs not used: Liam Grant, Tom King, Philip Reilly, Emmet Shaw.
Sporting Fingal: Darren Quigley; Ger O'Brien, Shaun Maher, Kenny Browne, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Conan Byrne, Shaun Williams, Shane McFaul, Ronan Finn; Eamon Zayed (Ollie Cahill, 80), Gary O'Neill (Glen Crowe, 70). Subs not used: Brendan Clarke, Alan Kirby, Brian Gannon.
extratime Man of the Match: Shaun Williams
Referee: Declan Hanney
Attendance: 679.
About Alan Dooley
is one of Extratime's longest serving contributors. Based in County Galway, Alan has been following the League of Ireland since the mid-1980s. His first memory of the drama of domestic football was Vinny Arkins, then … View Full Profile