Galway United 2

Tolka Rovers 0

GALWAY United will take on non-league opposition in this season’s FAI Cup for the second game in a row after being handed a city derby against Salthill Devon in Tuesday afternoon’s Last 16 draw, but they will take nothing for granted after struggling against Tolka Rovers in their opening round tie last Friday.

Goals in either half from Stephen Walsh and David Hurley secured United’s place in Tuesday’s draw, but it was a less than convincing performance against a side that finished 9th in the 14-team Leinster Senior League in the 2024/25 season, and is only a fortnight back in training ahead of the new campaign.

The object with any cup tie is to get the win and move on to the next round – scheduled for the weekend ending Sunday, August 17 – so in that regard, it was job done on Friday.

Throw in the bonus of a clean sheet – a rarity for United this season – as well as seeing one of your strikers finally get off the mark for the season, getting some game time into players, and seeing three Academy players all feature for the first-team squad, then it would seem to have been a profitable outing for John Caulfield’s side.

However, matters were not as straight-forward as it seems. New signing Malcolm Shaw endured another tough night before been hooked in the 56th minute of his seventh appearance for the side, and the man brought in to replace 10-goal Moses Dyer is still awaiting his first goal.

The decision to play Ed McCarthy through the middle rather than out wide was an unprofitable one, though it did at least show that Hurley is at his most effective when in that central role.

It was the Cork native’s introduction early in the second-half, and his positioning in that role McCarthy had occupied before being moved wide to accommodate the change, that saw United fully grasp control of the game that, while tilted in their favour, was far from a comfortable experience.

Caulfield name a near full-strength starting XI for the game: while there were three changes to the side beaten 3-0 by Bohs in the league a week earlier, it was hardly weakening the team by handing starts to Killian Brouder and Colm Horgan, while Axel Piesold was always likely to be handed his first start after joining in the transfer window.

The visitors showed something of a relaxed attitude towards the game, arriving at the ground just an hour before kick-off, and they were joined by a handful of fans, the team bus doubling up as a supporters’ bus as well.

Maybe it was an effort not to be overawed by the occasion, and their officials were certainly full of chat before the game, revealing they had watched a few United matches since the draw was made back in early June.

They booked their spot in the Second Round after beating Janesboro of Limerick 3-1 at home in the First Round back in April, but neither goalscorer from that game were involved on Friday night: Lasha Baramidze is out with a broken arm, while Katlego Mashigo has left the club. Their third goal from that win was an OG.

Their last competitive game was on the final day of the Leinster Senior League back on June 8, but they made life difficult for United on Friday night, though in fairness to the home side, it should be noted that the visitors didn’t have a single effort on goal over the 90 minutes.

United had plenty of looks, but just the two goals to show for the efforts. The first was well created, Aaron Bolger, McCarthy, and Horgan combining with one-touch football for the latter to whip in a cross from the right in the 19th minute, and Walsh got in front of the defender to send a glancing header across goal and inside the far post for his first goal since the second last game of last season.

Shaw should have doubled the lead when getting in behind Rovers’ goalkeeper, Noel Heffernan, in the 19th minute, but he scuffed his angled effort and Tyrick Reilly cleared off the line.

They had to wait until the 73rd minute to make the game safe, Hurley drilling a 20-yard effort inside the far post with his less favoured right-foot. Hurley is on an historic run with the club, and Friday’s appearance means he has made 142 consecutive appearances for United, a club record by some distance.

Walsh’s appearances saw him move on to 358 games for United, 10 shy of Kevin Cassidy’s all-time record; while former Colga FC player Donnacha Sammon was making his United debut. Goals and appearances apart, there was little else to get excited about in a poor game. It should be a different matter in the derby cup clash next month.

Galway United: Watts; Slevin, Cunningham, Brouder; Bolger (Thiam 78); Horgan (Sammon 78), Piesold (Hurley 56), McCarthy, Burns (Regan 78); Walsh, Shaw (Tollett 56).

Tolka Rovers: Heffernan; Molloy (O’Connor 70), Reilly, Heaney, Hayden; Check (Doyle-Ebbs 78), Townley, Gannon, Barry (Kelly 78); Paget (Mooney 74), Woods (Ibe 78).

Referee: Ryan Maher.

Pictured: Galway United’s Colm Horgan gets to the ball ahead of Tolka Rovers’ Kyle Hayden during Friday night’s FAI Cup tie at Eamonn Deacy Park. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.