SPORTING FINAL 2 GALWAY UNITED 0
Goals from Ronan Finn and substitute Eamon Zayed at Morton Stadium moved Sporting Fingal to within three points of the Airtricity League summit with a game in hand last Saturday.
With Dundalk and St. Patrick's Athletic both losing later in the evening - and Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers taking points from each other - Fingal's 2-0 victory over Galway United in the early kick-off at Morton Stadium made things interesting in what is shaping up to be a very close title race
But Liam Buckley's side were made to work for victory after wasting a succession of chances against a Galway side missing five players, including suspended duo Barry Ryan and Rhys Meynell, as well as striker Karl Sheppard who was absent due to international commitments with the Ireland under-19 side in Ukraine.
Fingal had absentees of their own, with John Frost, Stephen Paisley, Gary O'Neill and Kenny Browne all missing out, while Eamon Zayed and Shane Barrett were fit enough only to make the bench.
Fingal dominated play in the first half, creating a number of chances. A Conan Byrne corner-kick was the source of their first opening but Fingal skipper Shaun Maher directed his header just over the bar. The players seemed to be struggling to judge the weight of their passes accurately in the wet conditions, with a number of Fingal moves breaking down because of a poor final ball. However, Fingal's best chance of the first half did not come from good build up play but rather from a lapse of concentration in Galway's midfield.
Lorcan Fitzgerald dispossessed Galway's Stephen O'Donnell 30 yards from goal and found himself one-on-one with Galway's third choice 'keeper Dara Geraghty - but the left-back showed everybody why he is a defender by blazing over from just inside the area. Geraghty wiped his brow in relief.
Fitzgerald was in the thick of the action again moments later when he recovered from a slip near the Galway end-line to skip past two Galway players and deliver a pinpoint cross to Ger O'Brien at the back post - but Geraghty stooped low to push O'Brien's header out for a corner.
The Tribesmen's only chance of the first-half fell to O'Donnell, but his attempt summed up their efforts in this contest as he shot high and wide from 25 yards. Galway started the game with Anto Flood as a lone striker but - despite plenty of selfless running - his only telling contribution was to amuse the home crowd by slipping and falling behind Brendan Clarke's goal while trying to retrieve the ball.
Fingal pushed Shaun Williams into midfield beside Finn for the second half and suddenly Fingal began to find their final passes. Williams instigated a good move when he played the ball wide to Alan Kirby, whose pass was flicked on first time by Byrne on the edge of the area to the onrushing O'Brien - but his low cross was cut out by Galway skipper Thomas Heary.
It was only a matter of time before Fingal's pressure told and it was Finn who opened the scoring on 53 minutes in emphatic fashion. He picked up Fitzgerald's pass 30 yards from goal and hit a low drive into Geraghty's bottom right-hand corner, with the 'keeper's body language suggesting he thought the effort was going wide.
Galway switched to two up top after conceding and had a rare chance to equalise moments later when Flood found himself in behind the Fingal backline. He dragged his effort along the ground and saw it blocked by Brian Gannon - but the ball fell kindly to Gary Curran who shot wide when it seemed easier to score.
Zayed replaced the ineffective Glen Crowe just after the hour mark - and on 76 minutes he sealed the win. Williams broke from midfield and fed Zayed, who cut inside to curl a delightful finish into the top left-hand corner.
Finn forced Geraghty to palm away a curling effort and Williams hit the post with a fierce drive from 30 yards, but there were no more chances as Fingal saw the game out to enhance their title credentials.
TEAMS:
Sporting Fingal: Brendan Clarke; Ger O'Brien, Shaun Maher, Shaun Williams, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Brian Gannon, Ronan Finn, Alan Kirby; Glen Crowe (Zayed, 63 mins), Keith Quinn (Shane Barrett, 80 mins). Subs not used: Darren Quigley, Kevin Dawson, Colm James.
Galway United: Daire Geraghty; Paul Sinnot, James McKenzie, Thomas Heary, James Creaney; Tom King (Jason Molloy, 75 mins), Gary Curran, Stephen O'Donnell, Ciaran Foley, Bobby Ryan; Anto Flood. Subs not used: John Keane, Cian O'Brien.
Ref: Anthony Buttimer (Cork)
Attendance: 611
MATCH STATS (Sporting Fingal/Galway United):
Shots: 14/5
Corners: 6/1
Fouls: 3/6
Offsides: 2/2
Bookings/red cards: None
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