Time not right for upset
Ing-rusty North End bow out to Galway
TH END UNITED WAY UNITED
MING of the game made the world of differn rain-soaked Ferrycarrig Park on Saturday rank outsiders North End United fell to an ed defeat against First Division outfit Galway in the opening round of the Irish Daily Mail p. ee years ago the non-leaguers had made the ourney to Eamonn Deacy Park in the same etition and only lost 1-0, but they were six s into their season at that stage whereas the ners had only started their campaign. ortunately for North End, there was a complete st this time around as this was only their secre-season game, following on quickly from m Hand Cup final loss to Maynooth Town in ass six days earlier. the lack of sharpness that was understandaa result came back to haunt the reigning FAI Cup holders, as they couldn’t make the most decent goalscoring chances, two of them ut, in the opening 18 minutes. way United were clinical in front of goal by rison, making the most of every opportunity as n McCormack hat-trick and a composed finish nor Barry powered them to an unassailable erval lead. th End may take some consolation from g a clean sheet in the second-half, although a rather pedestrian affair with few chances d by either side. at was interesting to note was the addition of er three new faces off the bench, joining Craig be and veteran Gary Dempsey who featured t Maynooth but weren’t part of the match-day on this occasion. n Rhodes from New Ross came in at left-back e Flynn who sustained a first-half shoulder while Philip Drohan was a replacement for yrne. the third substitute was a familiar face at nue, as Paul ‘Patsy’ Malone enjoyed a long e of Ireland career with the old Wexford Youths where he was a favourite of the fans as a result of his combative midfield play.
Judging from the number of talented players at his disposal, the biggest headache manager John Godkin may have this season is trying to keep them all happy on an ongoing basis given that only eleven players can take to the field at any given time.
One suspects, though, that it’s a situation he will relish, as it will ensure training is always sharp with such keen competition for places.
The first of those four good chances created by North End was the most difficult from a technical point of view.
It came in the third minute when Jason Murphy arrowed a long ball towards the far post, and Kyle Dempsey had to get the timing of his volley spot on to force impressive Galway netminder Tadhg Ryan into a decent save.
It was an encouraging start for the outsiders, and they really should have taken the lead in the fifth minute when a long free-kick by goalkeeper Lee Walker skidded invitingly into the path of left winger Gary Byrne who had ghosted into a central position.
Maybe he had too much time to decide where he was going to place the shot, but Ryan was equal to the task as he kept it out with his left foot.
Rather than celebrating an early lead, North End were instead rocked back on their heels in the seventh minute when Marc Ludden’s low, driven cross from the left was finished with a sweet first-time strike by Eoin McCormack.
There was a touch of sloppiness about the second Galway goal in the 14th minute, as a heavy pass backwards was struck with too much pace for centre-half Gary Delaney to control.
Instead the ball hit off his leg and that only served to kill its pace and play into the hands of Conor Barry who was able to race down the middle and beat Walker with an impressive finish.
Even at that early stage it was looking like North End were destined for defeat, but they did come close to pulling back a goal in the 18th minute when Tadhg Ryan had to get down low to his right to keep out a fine strike from distance by captain Paul Murphy.
Adam Beary volleyed wide after Gary Byrne’s subsequent corner was turned into his path, but the heroics from Ryan continued five minutes later when he brought off another amazing save.
This time a foul on Kyle Dempsey led to a floated free-kick by Paul Murphy that was met with a meaty header by his brother, Jason, but the Galway number one made a cat-like leap to get a hand to an effort that had goal written all over it.
Ryan was simply unbeatable in his 55 minutes on the field, and it was tough luck on North End who also saw an Adam Beary shot saved for one of their three first-half corners (compared to one for the visitors) before Galway showed their clinical nature near half-time.
Eoin McCormack only needs a sniff of a chance to find the net, and he doubled his own tally in the 43rd minute when captain Ryan Connolly got to the byline on the left and pulled the ball back for the striker to beat Lee Walker from close range.
And McCormack completed his hat-trick a mere 70 seconds later from a Conor Barry pass, nicking the ball past a would-be challenger in the box before rolling it into the corner of the net.
The second-half had little to recommend it and in truth North End created few, if any, opportunities, apart from right-back Tony Crosbie heading over from a Paul Murphy free-kick on the left in the 65th minute.
Galway remained comfortable, heading the second-half corner count 6-2 and seeing their best two attempts, shots by substitute Wilson Waweru and Ryan Connolly respectively, saved by Lee Walker.
Incidentally, one of Ferrycarrig Park’s favourite sons, Danny Furlong, was an unused substitute for the visitors and has yet to play at the venue he once made his own since joining Galway after returning from New Zealand.
The North End focus will now switch to the resumption of the Wexford League early next month.
North End United: Lee Walker; Tony Crosbie, Gary Delaney, Decky Downes, Dale Flynn; Kyle Dempsey, John Fenlon, Paul Murphy (capt.), Gary Byrne; Adam Beary; Jason Murphy. Subs. - Alan Rhodes for Flynn, inj. (HT), Philip Drohan for Byrne (63), Paul Malone for J. Murphy (74), also Allen Colegate, Ciarán Carthy, Brandon Sinnott, Dylan Owens.
Galway United: Tadhg Ryan; Christopher Horgan, Evan Murphy, Stephen Walsh, Marc Ludden; Conor Barry, Aaron Conway, Ryan Connolly (capt.), Robbie Williams, Seán Russell; Eoin McCormack. Subs. - Conor Gleeson for Ryan (55), Dara Mulgannon for Barry (55), Wilson Waweru for McCormack (69), also Alex Byrne, Danny Furlong, Carlton Uzaebuono, Ronan Manning.
Referee: Eoghan O’Shea (Tipperary).