Sligo Rovers 1

Galway United 2

By Kevin Horgan at the Showgrounds

CIAN Byrne’s brace of goals was the difference as Galway United finally ended their poor record at the Showgrounds, with a narrow away win over the Bit o’ Red on Saturday evening. This was the Tribesmen’s first league victory in the Yeats County since 1996 and United’s first league win in the Connacht derby since 2017.

The Dyke Road outfit came into the first Connacht Derby of the season in determined mood, following a narrow defeat to another bogey team Shamrock Rovers the previous weekend

As a result, United changed their formation for the provincial derby, with the side playing with just one striker, rather than the usual two, that John Caulfield had adopted for the start of this season. From the off, it was clear that the visitors’ game plan was to flood the midfield area and dominate the middle third, which they certainly did for long periods in a game they fully deserved to win.

To their credit, it was the hosts who started the brighter, with Reece Hutshinson causing trouble down Galway’s right flank, however Jeannot Esua and Rob Slevin defended Hutchinson’s deliveries well early on.

Caulfield’s side’s first chance of the game came in the 14th minute when Jimmy Keohane found himself in behind the home team’s defence, but John Mahon recovered well to intercept the former Cork City player’s cross across goal.

Subsequently, the hosts grew back into the game, and John Russell’s side were next to have a shot in anger but Will Fitzgerald’s long-range effort was smartly saved by Evan Watts in the United goal.

Despite some good Rovers play at the start of the second quarter, it was the Tribesmen who took the lead in the 24th minute through Cian Byrne. A long Killian Brouder header caused chaos in the Sligo defence, and the ball fell to the Bohs loanee, who finished calmy past Conor Walsh in the Rovers goal.

United did continue to play with a narrow midfield last Saturday night, and it was clear that Rovers tried to expose the visitors’ lack of bodies out wide throughout, but United’s wing backs of Esua and Bobby Burns defended well all night.

Patrick Hickey who was playing in a striker role on Saturday, had a great chance to double the visitors’ lead in the 36th minute but Westport native, Walsh, saved well from the American.

The away side dominated the second quarter and probably deserved to be two up at the break. The men in red were sloppy in possession for much of the second quarter and almost played themselves into trouble at times, with some poor passes in their defensive third.

Despite the unrelenting pressure from Galway in the last 10 minutes of the half, the away side only led 1-0 at the break. Four minutes into the second half, however, United deservedly doubled their lead. They were awarded a free kick in a threatening area following a cynical foul by Matthew Wolfe. Byrne took the resulting free kick from 25 yards out and his right footed effort went over the Sligo wall, and past Walsh in the home side’s goal to give United a 2-0 lead.

Pictured: Galway United’s Cian Byrne who scored twice to end their long run of poor results against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds on Saturday.