Bohemians 0 - 2 Galway United

• Graeme McQueen
• Sat, Aug 14 2010


Goals in either half from Stephen O'Donnell and Derek O'Brien secured a surprise win for nine-man Galway United over a toothless Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Friday night.

The result keeps alive Galway's hopes of avoiding a relegation playoff, but comes as a major setback for Bohs in their quest to secure a third consecutive title. Bohs dominated for much of the game, but were unable to puncture a resolute Galway defensive line.

Man of the match O'Donnell fired Galway in front four minutes before the interval with a well taken free-kick, despite defender Rhys Meynell having been shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident as O'Donnell prepared to take the kick.

O'Brien doubled Galway's advantage on 57 minutes with a close range finish. The Tribesmen finished the game with nine men after Paul Sinnott was red carded on 74 minutes for a rash challenge on Killian Brennan, but they held on for their second away victory over Bohs this season.

Much of the build up to the game had centred around Bohs' off-field problems, with the club's board having this week informed members to expect pay cuts and player departures as they attempt to balance the books.

Galway manager Sean Connor had warned his charges to expect a backlash from Bohs after they were crushed 3-0 by title rivals Shamrock Rovers last weekend, but it took the home side 21 minutes to carve out their first real chance of the game. Jason Byrne beat the offside trap to collect a neat Paul Keegan pass, but rather than having a shot himself, he elected to square the ball across an empty six yard box and the ball trundled wide.

This close call seemed to give the home side confidence and a period of sustained one way pressure followed. Owen Heary rose highest to meet a Killian Brennan corner on 28 minutes, but his effort was blocked on the line by Karl Sheppard and the defender managed to scramble the ball clear.

Galway's O'Donnell was booked for a trip on Cretaro on the half hour mark and Bohs again went close from the resulting free kick. Brennan launched it to the back post and the unmarked Cretaro sent a looping header into the path of Byrne but his header was cleared off the line by Sinnott.

Bohs passed up another gilt-edge chance on 34 minutes when Keegan got in behind the visitors' defence. From 14 yards his tame shot was saved by the legs of Galway 'keeper Barry Ryan and when the ball broke back to the midfielder he again found Ryan's shins.

What looked like being a tough night for Galway got even harder on 41 minutes when Meynell was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident as his side prepared to take a free kick on the edge of the Bohs area. The cheers of the home fans which followed were short-lived, however, as former Bohs midfielder O'Donnell duly slammed home the free-kick to put his side in front at the break.

Pat Fenlon was clearly unimpressed by what he had seen sent his charges back out to warm up after just a few minutes of the interval. With his words no doubt still ringing in their ears, Bohs again went on offensive. Keegan again proved wasteful in front of goal just seconds after the restart when he again passed up a double chance, firing straight at Ryan with his first effort before scuffing wide from six yards when the ball returned to his feet.

Bohs continued to press, but the ten men of Galway struck them with yet another sucker punch on 57 minutes when Derek O'Brien doubled their advantage. Jamie McKenzie knocked the ball through the legs of Jason McGuinness on the corner of the Bohs area and forced his way past the defender before delivering a cracking ball across the six yard box which was powered home by O'Brien.

With a two goal advantage Galway continued to invite Bohs on to them, but while the home side continued to flood forward, a combination of some poor finishing and some excellent goalkeeping from Ryan ensured their lead remained intact.

Keegan and substitute Paddy Madden - under the watchful eye of a string of scouts from British clubs, most notably Derby County manager Nigel Clough - both passed up decent chances, while Jason Byrne fired tamely at Ryan late on when he was clean through on goal.

The win moves Galway to within one point of fourth-from-bottom UCD. Bohs drop to fourth and are now eight points behind leaders Shamrock Rovers, albeit with one game in hand.

Bohemians: Chris O'Connor; Brian Shelley, Owen Heary, Mark Rossiter (Glen Cronin, 62), Ruaidhri Higgins, Jason McGuinness; Rafael Cretaro (Aaron Greene, 86), Paul Keegan, Killian Brennan; Mark Quigley (Paddy Madden, 62), Jason Byrne.
Subs not used: Barry Murphy, Conor Powell.

Galway United: Barry Ryan; Jamie McKenzie, Paul Sinnott, Tom King (Philip Reilly, 42), Rhys Meynell; Derek O'Brien, Stephen O'Donnell, Ciaran Foley, Gary Curran; Karl Sheppard, Steven Walsh.
Subs not used: Conor Winn, Gary Kelly, Jason Molloy, David Sheppard.

Man of the Match: Stephen O'Donnell
Referee: D. Hancock