Waterford United 1 - 0 SD Galway

A rare moment of brilliance was enough to give Waterford United all three points against SD Galway, as Gary Dempsey’s sublime free-kick proved to be the only goal of a game the home side just about deserved to win. 

The home side edged the opening exchanges, though without creating any real chances. Paul Phelan looked dangerous down the left-hand side, and Ben Ryan saw a couple of headers floated much too high into the night sky. Waterford probed and prodded, concentrating on trying to get in behind the SD Galway full-backs – though to largely no avail. 

The visitors’ first moment of danger came through their first corner of the game on 25 minutes, as Seamus Long’s superb defensive header stopped Tommy Bradshaw connecting just five yards out. The opening goal of the game arrived in the 31^st minute through a marvellously-struck Gary Dempsey free-kick, after Eugene Greaney had been booked for a foul on Gary Dunphy. Dempsey stepped forward to bend the ball into the top corner beyond goalkeeper Liam Grant’s full-length dive. 

This home lead was almost short-lived, as just four minutes later SD had a Mikey Gilmore header cleared off the line by Paul Carey. Then, on 37 minutes, Enda Curran almost found the elusive equaliser but saw his low effort from just inside the area rebound to him off the post and Dylan Mernagh was on hand to block down the second attempt. 

The game was verging on ‘end-to-end’ when, on 40 minutes, Peter Higgins was played through on the SD goal but saw his attempted dink blocked down by Grant. Three minutes later it was the visitors’ turn to clear off the line, as Seamus Long’s close-range shot was turned wide by the legs of Ronan Conlon. 
 

The second-half was barely a minute old when Mike Tierney fired just wide of Packie Holden’s near post. This, though, proved to be an isolated moment of attacking threat from the visitors from the West, as Waterford began to take control of the game. On 52 minutes, Ben Ryan drew a terrific low save from Grant before Gary Dunphy dragged a rebounded effort inches wide on 69 minutes. 

The final twenty minutes were played out on the home side’s terms, though Mikey Gilmore did offer a brief moment of resistance with 14 minutes left to play. Having beaten his man, however, the midfielder couldn’t guide his effort inside Holden’s far post. While never truly comfortable, Waterford managed to see out the rest of the game without too much discomfort to ensure back-to-back wins and continue their 100% home league record. 

Waterford United: Packie Holden; Paul Carey, Dylan Mernagh, Craig Burns, Seamus Long; Peter Higgins, Gary Dempsey, Gary Dunphy, Paul Phelan, Ben Ryan; Willie John Kiely (Peter Keegan '86). 
Subs not used: Robbie Hughes, Jason Keane, John Frost, Jamie Cross, David Cooley, David Breen. 
Bookings: D Mernagh (18), WJ Kiely (48).

 

SD Galway: Liam Grant; Paddy Quinlan, Cian Fadden, Eric Browne, Tommy Bradshaw; Mikey Gilmore, Eugene Greaney, Ronan Conlon (Eduardo Dusi '74), Mike Tierney; Brian Gaffney (Charlie Burke '89), Enda Curran. 
Subs not used: Ronan Burke, Willie Enubele, Brian Geraghty, Jason Murphy. 
Bookings: E Greaney (29).

 

Referee: Keith Callanan (Cork).
Attendance: 319.
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Ben Ryan – Worked tirelessly all game, both in defence and attack.