Galway United 6

Athlone Town 0

Mike Rafferty at Eamonn Deacy Park

WELL, the First Division title might be won and the celebrations ongoing, but there is no sign of Galway United letting their standards slip as they whipped Athlone by six goals at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night.

From the outset this was a total mugging as three goals in the opening 11 minutes indicated the gulf in class between the teams and two more at the beginning of the second half allowed United stroll through this contest with ease. It was also an occasion when Darren Clarke displayed some of the skills that brought him to the attention of the club in the first case as he notched a brace, with striker Rob Manley doing likewise on a rare 90 minutes of action for him.

The home side made two changes to the starting eleven that saw off Finn Harps earlier in the week, as Vincent Borden and Darren Clarke started in place of the injured Francely Lomboto and the rested Ed McCarthy. There was also a first-team debut as a substitute for Athenry native Daire McCarthy and he capped a solid introduction with an assist for the sixth goal.

The Athlone team sheet indicated that they were missing a number of regulars with no sign of defenders Noah Van Geenan and Jack Kavanagh nor strikers Frantz Pierrot and Jamar Campion-Hinds, as they featured just five of the team that faced United back in July. Indeed, it looked like a very young side were still on the bus as United scored two quick goals.

On just two minutes, Regan Donelon and David Hurley combined on the left and the latter’s deep cross found Darren Clarke in space and he duly obliged with the opener. Almost immediately, United doubled their advantage. This time Aodh Dervin provided the delivery as Clarke nodded it down at the far post and Stephen Walsh applied the close range finish.

Pictured: Galway United’s Robert Manley is congratulated by his teammates after scoring their third goal in Friday night’s big First Division win over Athlone Town at Eamonn Deacy Park. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.