- Paul Corcoran
- Sat, Oct 31 2020
Galway United kept their promotion hopes alive when they ran out 1-0 winners over Bray Wanderers in the playoffs on Saturday afternoon.
Wilson Waweru nabbed the only goal of the game after taking advantage of a Brian Maher mistake in the second half.
Neither side displayed themselves in their best light in the first half of this playoff encounter.
The home side were mostly on top but were unable to create the kind of decent chances they would have liked for the amount of time they spent in Galway’s half.
Despite the pressure The Seagulls were exerting, it was Galway who had the first real chance of the game after an effort by Enda Curran from the edge of the box in the 8th minute.
He struck the ball toward the top corner but Brian Maher reacted quickly to make the diving save to bat the ball away.
Later in the half, a nice backheel from Ryan Graydon played in Derek Daly for a shot on goal in the 17th minute.
The midfielder took aim from distance but Micheál Schlingermann managed to get down quickly to make the save.
The home side had a number of corners in the first half as a result of the time spent in Galway’s half.
They went closest in the 22nd minute when Dylan Barnett floated the ball into the box but Joe Doyle nodded the ball just over the crossbar.
Galway looked the livelier in the second half and just five minutes after the restart they nearly took the lead after Killian Brouder volleyed inches wide after Shane Duggan found him in the box from a free-kick.
Doyle went close again around the hour mark after Callum Thompson crossed the ball in from the right wing after making a good run. Doyle’s header was just inches wide of the post.
Gary Cronin’s side went close again in the 68th minute with a spectacular effort from Sean McEvoy from well outside the box.
The defender lined up the shot before lashing the ball low towards goal but it dinged the left goalpost and was cleared.
Galway had put Bray under extended pressure inside their box before the defender flicked the ball goalward only to be denied by the crossbar.
The Tribesmen took the lead in the 82nd minute after a pacey cross into the box from Stephen Christopher.
Wilson Waweru attempted to score with a bicycle kick and missed but he would get a second chance when Maher spilled the ball as he tried to claim it, allowing the striker to smash the ball in past the goalkeeper.
After just making it into the playoffs, first by clinching a dramatic point against UCD midweek and then the deduction of points from Cabinteely, after an appeal by Wexford, Galway now find themselves two games away from promotion.
Bray Wanderers: Brian Maher; John Ross Wilson, Sean McEvoy, Kilian Cantwell, Aaron Barry, Dylan Barnett; Callum Thompson, Derek Daly (Darragh Lynch 84); Ryan Graydon, Joe Doyle (Gary Shaw 84).
Subs not used: Jack Watson, Gary Shaw, Tristan Noack Hofmann, Marlon Marishta, Cian Maher, Darragh Lynch, Adam Hayden.
Booked:
Galway United: Mícheál Schlingermann; Marc Ludden, Killian Brouder, Jack Lynch; Shane Doherty, Stephen Christopher, Maurice Nugent, Sam Warde; Enda Curran (Wilson Waweru 55), Timmy Molloy (Mikey Place 55).
Subs not used: Francely Lomboto, Kevin Horgan, Christopher Horgan, Vinny Faherty, Conor Barry, Wilson Waweru.
Booked: ,Stephen Christopher (78)
Referee: Eoghan O'Shea
Attendance: 0
ExtraTime.com Man of the Match: Shane Duggan (Galway United)
