Galway United were held to a 1-1 draw against Athlone Town on Friday night in Eamonn Deacy Park halting their losing streak at three. A first half goal from Wilson Waweru was cancelled out by a Dean Williams penalty in the second half for the visito
Galway United were held to a 1-1 draw against Athlone Town on Friday night in Eamonn Deacy Park halting their losing streak at three.
A first half goal from Wilson Waweru was cancelled out by a Dean Williams penalty in the second half for the visitors, and Galway manager Alan Murphy did not have much complaints over the final result after the game.
“Probably a fair result in the end really,” he said.
“I thought we had a lot of possession in the first half, that’s the way we set up and we wanted to try and control the game as much as we could.
“That kind of football is going to be a work in progress though, in terms of that really good quality possession, and moving through the thirds and creating chances.
“I’m reasonably happy with the first half. They squeezed a bit higher in the second half and the game became very bitty. I thought our defending became very poor from long balls, we were at sea at times in terms of our positioning and we gave up too many chances.”
Waweru’s strike was a thing of beauty but the equalising goal for the visitors was met with disdain from the home fans. Murphy, however, accepts the decision.
“It was a terrible goal to concede, it was a very juvenile error and I think it was a penalty.
“Cian Murphy bundled into him, he’s tripped over him, the Athlone player has probably done well to buy the penalty a bit from the ref but Cian has shown his inexperience.
“It’s his first year of League of Ireland football, he’s had about 13 or 14 games and he’s got conned.”
A recent addition to The Tribesmen is former Waterford and Cobh Ramblers player, Jack Lynch. The defenced made his debut against his former club down in Cobh last weekend but Friday night saw his home debut in Eamonn Deacy Park.
“Jack Lynch came in tonight and I thought he did fine. I though he was probably our best defender tonight to be brutally honest and it was only his first start.
“That’s what we’re dealing with here, we’re talking about a guy who has had his first start and a guy beside him that’s literally played 13 or 14 games this year.”
The Horgans, Kevin and Chris also played on Friday for Galway. Murphy noted their commitment, as the pair are coming off a tough week for the Horgan family, which includes their brothers, former Dundalk player Daryl and current Cork City player Colm, with the passing of their grandfather.
Kevin Horgan came under particular praise having prevented Athlone from scoring several gilt edged chances throughout the game despite the circumstances.
“The two Horgans played tonight after having a few tough days burying their grandfather yesterday both have vomiting bugs the last 48 hours.
“Kevin Horgan had an injection at half time and then he comes out in the second half an puts in that display. That’s the character of the guy, I say it week in week out he’s a great guy to have around the place and he’s rubbing off on the other players.”
