Galway United 0 - St Patrick's Athletic 2Galway United slumped to a 14th consecutive loss in all competitions as a superior St Patrick's Athletic side sauntered to a convincing win courtesy of goals in each half from striker Daniel North and defender Evan McMillan. The visitors were gifted a dream start when after only seven minutes United 's defence failed to deal with a routine ball in midfield and allowed Daniel North to scamper through on goal. Goalkeeper Greg Fleming was equal to the first effort but was powerless to prevent North from poking home the rebound. The goal settled St Pats who took advantage of the cushion and passed the ball comfortably in front of the home team. Though Galway gradually improved, their young back four remained vulnerable and were fortunate not to go two down when Evan McMillan scuffed a chance from three yards and Anthony Murphy shook the post either side of the half-hour mark. Smart passing - particularly from midfielder Shane McFaul - meant Pat's could get in behind the back four almost at will with only the final ball or the finish eluding them. There were rare flashes of promise at the other end, with lively winger Mikey Gilmore forcing a smart save from former Galway stopper Gary Rogers in the 34th minute. The home defence continued to rely on a combination of keeper Fleming, poor finishing and marginal offside decisions to keep the deficit to the minimum at half-time. The resumption of play after the turnaround signalled a livelier affair as both sides pressed for the second goal. Though the away side continued to look more threatening, Gimore's move up front and Karl Moore's move to the left added purpose to the home attack. Despite Galway shading the third quarter any hopes of a comeback seemed to evaporate when Steve Feeney was harshly dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 69th minute. Buoyed by their numerical advantage, the Inchicore side came close to sealing the matter in the following minutes. They were not to be denied a third time when centre-half McMillan rose highest to glance home Stephen Bradley's corner 18 minutes from time to all but secure the three points. Things could have deteriorated further for the Tribesmen had substitute David McMillan converted a gilt-edged chance in the closing minutes. © rte.ie
