- Trevor Murray
- Tue, May 19 2015
A late winner, in extra-time, courtesy of Galway striker Jake Keegan was all that was needed for Galway United to edge past Bohemians in the quarter-final of the EA Sports Cup at Eamonn Deacy Park as the Tribesmen booked their spot in the last four.
A crowd of roughly 600 spectators watched on as Tommy Dunne's men earned a deserving win, although they took their time in making sure the job was done, as they failed to stick away a number of fantastic opportunities much earlier in the contest.
In truth, the opening half was a largely forgettable one as neither side mustered much of note for quite some time. It was a niggly affair with lots of scrappy football on display, and as the rain started to fall it looked like we were in for a long, drawn-out snooze-fest.
Fashioning something notable midway through the first forty-five minutes, Bohemians almost had the ball in the back of the net after a cross from Karl Moore nearly found the head of Jason Byrne, but instead it was Galway defender Paul Sinnott who connected to guide the ball back to the safety of his own keeper.
The Tribesmen needed to respond with something of their own and they did, just a few minutes before the referee signaled half-time as Ryan Connolly, who had a superb game on the night, produced a decent left-footed effort to give Bohs' fans something to think about.
Unfortunately, however, it sailed over the bar. There and then, it looked very like we would see extra-time, or even penalties.
Once the action restarted after the interval there was far more energy to proceedings as both sides began to play with more hunger, upping the tempo as they did so with some eye-catching passing.
The Gypsies again looked to Byrne as the focal point of their attack as he produced an effort from 25 yards, but Galway custodian Conor Winn looked more than comfortable watching the shot drag wide of the target.
The final 15 minutes of normal time saw Dunne's charges really up the ante as they worked hard to create a number of chances with Padraic Cunningham and Jake Keegan coming close as the match edged to a scoreless conclusion.
Extra-time was looming and neither side could do much to stop it. However, it took only four minutes of the extra period for a breakthrough to arrive as New York native Keegan popped up to nod home a Jason Molloy cross, much to the delight of the home fans.
From there, Keith Long's men looked like the stuffing had been knocked out of them and they struggled to get a touch of the ball for the rest of the match, despite continuing to fight on with some lofted balls into Galway territory.
Indeed, the withdrawal of Anto Murphy due to injury, which saw the visitors reduced to 10 men, certainly didn't help their efforts either.
The result means the Corribsiders have now won in two of the three meetings between the clubs in all competitions this season and it should act as a springboard for the newly-promoted side to ensure they kick on.
As for Bohemians, they can now turn their attentions to their home clash with Bray Wanderers in the Premier Division.
Galway United: Conor Winn; Alex Byrne (Jason Molloy, 62), Colm Horgan, Cormac Raftery, Paul Sinnott, Stephen Walsh; Ryan Connolly, Kevin Garcia (David O'Leary, 20), Jake Keegan, Gary Shanahan (Antaine O'Laoi, 115), Padraic Cunningham.
Subs not used: Conor Gleeson (gk); Marc Ludden, Sam Oji.
Yellow Cards: Cunningham (116).
Bohemians: Dean Delany; Anto Murphy, Roberto Lopes, Lorcan Fitzgerald, Stephen Best; Dave Mulcahy (Keith Buckley 34), Karl Moore (James O'Brien 83), Kealan Dillon (Adam Evans 66), Robbie Creevy; Marc Griffin, Jason Byrne.
Subs not used: Lee Stacey (gk), Derek Prendergast, Dylan Hayes, Jason Caffrey.
Yellow Cards: Fitzgerald (60), O'Brien (114), Best (116).
Referee: Padraigh Sutton.
Attendance: 600 (estimate).
Extratime.ie Man of the Match: Ryan Connolly (Galway United FC).
