Galway United came from behind to secure a dramatic point against St Patrick’s Athletic at Eamonn Deacy Park thanks to a converted 89th-minute Ronan Murray penalty that cancelled out Rory Feely’s first-half opener. Speaking to reporters following th
Galway United came from behind to secure a dramatic point against St Patrick’s Athletic at Eamonn Deacy Park thanks to a converted 89th-minute Ronan Murray penalty that cancelled out Rory Feely’s first-half opener.
Speaking to reporters following the match, Tribesmen manager Shane Keegan was far from ecstatic at the manner of the result.
“It’s hard to shake my annoyance at the goal we conceded. We are where we are because we keep conceding avoidable goals and that was the ultimate in an avoidable goal, absolutely unforgivable,” the Laois native said.
Indeed, United’s defence was questionable at best for Feely’s opener as the Pat’s defender was allowed to jump uncontested to power home at the back post.
“I’d be in an awful lot worse form if we hadn’t got the equaliser, but it hasn’t done a massive amount to improve my form either, to be quite honest,” Keegan quipped.
The Corribsiders showed good spirit to fight back and earn their equaliser and Keegan praised the quality of United’s dressing room as being ‘as good as anything in the league’ outside of Cork and Dundalk, but he was keen to underline the need for improvement.
“We have been in every game this year, bar Turner’s Cross where we were well and truly second best. In every other game, we have given as good as we’ve got, and yet we’ve a pathetic points tally on the back of it which has just shown a lack of clinicalness and stupid errors every week.”
It’s an in-form Limerick up next, but Keegan wasn’t making any excuses ahead of the clash.
“It doesn’t matter that it’s an away match, it doesn’t matter that it’s against a good side. Realistically in this league you’ve only got an excuse against Cork [City] and Dundalk. I think they’re that much better than the rest.”
Meanwhile, Pat’s manager Liam Buckley was disappointed in the way they conceded late on to be denied maximum points.
“It’s a poor penalty we’ve given away. I thought our first-half performance was decent. The way we kept the ball reasonably well, to some degree, created one or two chances. Then, in the second half, we just didn’t do well enough.
“I can’t fault the effort from everybody, it’s just the quality we need to get better,” he said.
Regarding his side’s missed opportunities such as the 73rd minute squandered effort from Kurtis Byrne, Buckley wasn’t too concerned and remained upbeat about the games to come.
“Listen, we’ve had a few of them instances this season. We’re eight games into it – there’s four points between Derry City who are in fourth spot and us, so there’s not a lot in it and I guarantee the league table will swap and change right the course of the season bearing in mind the quality of most of the teams,” he concluded.
Trevor Murray
