St Patrick’s Athletic 2

Galway United 1

ASK any manager about an incident that goes against them in a game, and the usual response is that ‘these things tend to balance themselves out over the season’.

If that is the case, then last Friday night saw Galway United settle their tab for their outrageous smash-and-grab up in Drogheda a couple of weeks ago as, despite being the better team, they made the trip back west empty-handed when even a draw would have been considered a poor return for their efforts.

They were as rakish in Richmond as they were woeful up in Weavers, yet they claimed a win up in Louth but were beaten on the Emmet Road on Friday night by a St Patrick’s Athletic side that was ending its five-game run without a win.

United made just one change to the side that beat Dundalk 2-0 a week earlier, Karl O’Sullivan coming into the starting XI and Aodh Dervin taking his place on the bench. The home side had a less settled look from the outfit which drew 2-2 with Bohs the last time out, with Ruairi Keating ruled out through injury, and both Jason McClelland and Jake Mulraney dropping to the bench.

In came Conor Keeley and the unrelated Brandon and Cian Kavanagh in an effort to end a poor run of results and notch a first win under the heralded return of Stephen Kenny to the league – their starting XI for the 3-0 midweek win over Bray Wanderers in the Leinster Senior Cup was a second-string side.

Pictured: Al-Amin Kazeem sent in the cross which led to Galway United’s equaliser on Friday night. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.