Scoreless home stalemate
Galway goal disallowed for handball in opening minute
WEXFORD F.C. GALWAY UNITED 0 0
THERE’S TWO ways of looking at the form of Wexford F.C. thus far, after their third game of the new SSE Airtricity First Division campaign ended in a scoreless draw with Galway United before 218 spectators in Ferrycarrig Park on Friday.
The optimists will point to the fact that they are proving difficult to beat at home, which is always the basis for any decent season.
This was their second draw before their own supporters, after the 1-1 opening night stalemate with U.C.D., and it should be remembered that Galway had romped to a 4-0 win when they visited the ground on March 1 last year.
However, the pessimists will point to the fact that Wexford haven’t scored in two games now, after that last-gasp Conor English equaliser against the students was followed by a 2-0 loss on the road to Bray Wanderers.
Clearly, that’s the main issue in need of improvement, one that has carried over from last season, albeit with practically an entirely new squad on board.
They were well matched with Galway for the most part on Friday, although the visitors did have the ball in the net after a mere 19 seconds, and then struck the crossbar with a super strike in the 83rd minute.
There was relief for Wexford after that early scare, because striker Enda Curran had handled the ball before he guided Chris Horgan’s right-wing cross beyond netminder Tom Murphy from close range.
And good fortune visited the number one with regard to that late opportunity, because he could only look on as a dipping shot from the left by substitute Donal
Higgins went wide via the top of the woodwork.
There was a debut at full-back for Craig Giles, the fourth generation of his family to play League of Ireland football, and a grandson of the legendary Johnny, one of the finest players the country has ever produced.
He came in for Karl Fitzsimons, and the other change from the Bray loss saw striker Conor English return to the starting line-up in place of Janabi Amour who was on the bench, with Kaleem Simon moving to the right flank as a result.
Wexford settled after that early let-off and forced the first of the four corners shared by the teams in the opening half, although Cian Kavanagh’s delivery from the left was cleared in the sixth minute.
An Enda Curran mis-hit made it easy for Tom Murphy to gather, but Galway did create a decent chance on their next attack of note.
Carlton Ubaezuonu found Conor Barry whose left-wing cross deflected off the head of Wexford’s James Carroll into the path of Dean O’Halloran, and he volleyed the ball back across goal and wide.
A high boot on Carroll led to a yellow card for Galway’s Curran, and the home side then survived a scramble after Joshua Smith came forward to get his head on a Conor Barry corner.
Conor Crowley couldn’t direct the ball on target after playing a one-two with Dan Tobin and getting on the end of his return cross in the 28th minute.
Kaleem Simon was offside from a Craig Giles cross, although his attempt was blocked anyway, and the last 15 minutes of the half didn’t feature any major chances of note at either end.
James Carroll forced Micheál Schlingermann into saving his header after a free-kick in the 53rd minute, while Joshua Smith made a vital interception when Charlie Smith pounced on a poor pass by Joe Collins.
Wexford’s two second-half corners arrived in quick succession and yielded nothing in the way of openings, before captain Tobin entered the notebook for a foul on Dean O’Halloran in the 64th minute.
The home side’s leader did very well to get his head on a dangerous Enda Curran cross that was intended for Conor Barry, while Cian Kavanagh didn’t test Schlingermann with a long-range shot that went left and wide.
Curran couldn’t sort his feet in time to make the most of a Carlton Ubaezuonu cross, but a downward header by substitute Conor Melody did force Tom Murphy into making a save in the 83rd minute.
It was in the moments after that attempt that Donal Higgins almost secured the winner for Galway with his curler that struck the crossbar, but the visitors had to play out the closing stages with ten men after captain Shane Duggan collected a straight red card for a dangerous challenge on Craig Giles under the nose of the referee.
The debutant full-back had to retire after receiving treatment, but Wexford couldn’t make the most of their numerical advantage before the game concluded after six and a half added minutes.
Paul Cleary and Galway’s Joe Collins were booked in separate incidents, while the visitors’ third and final second-half corner saw a Killian Brouder volley blocked and cleared.
And even though the westerners played the last three minutes with just nine men – after Conor Melody limped off with their three substitutes already used – Wexford couldn’t capitalise as a late Conor Crowley free-kick was cleared before the final whistle sounded.
The next action in Ferrycarrig Park is tonight (Tuesday), with Bray Wanderers visiting for the first round of the EA Sports Cup (7.45 p.m.).
Lissywollen will be the location for Friday’s league game at the same time, with Athlone Town providing the opposition.
Wexford F.C.: Tom Murphy; Dan Tobin (capt.), James Carroll, Paul Cleary, Craig Giles; Karl Manahan, Conor Crowley; Kaleem Simon, Cian Kavanagh, Charlie Smith; Conor English. Subs. - Seán Roche for Kavanagh (74), Kristian Crawford for Giles, inj. (86), also Karl Fitzsimons, Janabi Amour, Lee Costello, Patrick O’Sullivan, Colum Feeney.
Galway United: Micheál Schlingermann; Chris Horgan, Joshua Smith, Killian Brouder, Carlton Ubaezuonu; Shane Duggan (capt.), Joe Collins; Conor Barry, Stephen Christopher, Dean O’Halloran; Enda Curran. Subs. - Donal Higgins for Christopher (64), Conor Melody for Barry (79), Maurice Nugent for Curran (86), also Timmy Molloy, Alberto Cabanyes, Kevin Farragher, Cian Mulryan.
Referee: Oliver Moran (Dublin).
Other results: Cabinteely 1, Shamrock Rovers II 0; Drogheda United 5, U.C.D. 1; Cobh Ramblers 3, Athlone Town 2; Longford Town v. Bray Wanderers (postponed).
Fixtures: Tuesday, March 10 (7.45 p.m.) - EA Sports Cup first round: Wexford F.C. v. Bray Wanderers; Friday, March 13 (7.45 p.m.) - SSE Airtricity First Division: Athlone Town v. Wexford F.C.; Bray Wanderers v. Cobh Ramblers; Galway United v. Cabinteely; U.C.D. v. Longford Town; Saturday, March 14 (3 p.m.) - SSE Airtricity First Division: Shamrock Rovers II v. Drogheda United.
SSE AIRTRICITY FIRST DIVISION
P W D L F A PTS Cabinteely 33008 39 Drogheda Utd 3 2 0 1 7 26 Longford Tn 22003 06 U.C.D. 31113 64 Bray Wderers 2 1 0 1 4 43 Cobh Rblers 31023 53 Galway Utd 20201 12 Wexford F.C. 30211 32 Shamrock R 30121 41 Athlone Town 2 0 0 2 3 60