by Conall Diggin

The spoils were shared in the match between Galway United and Dundalk FC following a 96th minute equaliser from Eoin Kenny.

In what was a crunch matchup for both sides as Galway continue to push for a European place while Dundalk look to stave off relegation for another day.

The match was a tetchy affair throughout, which is to be expected from the league’s two lowest scoring sides; any chances created were going to need to be taken for both sides. The first chance of the match was created by Lilywhites winger Paul Doyle, who swung a deep free kick into the centre of the
box, which went to captain John Mountey but was easily grasped by Brendan Clarke in the Galway goal.

Galway boss John Caulfield was forced into an early sub in the 26th minute when winger Ed McCarthey was hauled off with an injury for Karl O’Sullivan.

From there,it was a first half filled with half chances for both sides, with many crosses failing to reach their recipients. That was until the 40th minute, when substitute Karl O’sullivan skipped past his man on the left wing and floated a cross to Patrick Hickey at the back post, where he responded with a towering header that clipped the bottom of the bar and brought Eamonn Deacy Park to their feet for the first time all night.

The Tribesmen would go into the half up 1-0 and controlling much of the half.

Following the restart, the Lilywhites would begin the brighter of the two sides. A deep free kick was once again looped into John Mountney, but his header was blocked. After the breakdown, some nice play on the left wing saw halftime substitute Norman Garbett flash one across, but a timely intervention from Killian Brouder would ensure it would go no further than the near post.

Only minutes later, O’Sullivan would shine again, working his way into the box and firing off a shot that would be deflected, nearly catching out Ross Munro with the Scottish shotstopper scrambling to keep the ball from crossing the line.

United defender Brouder was once again forced into action when a free kick from Mountney found the head of Dara Keane, but Brouder was able to clear before it reached the goal line.

John Mountney would be forced on to the sideline after blood was spilling from his face, he would leave the pitch with his number 23 shirt red with blood and return with a new number 19 jersey, a number that does not belong to any member of the squad, and play the remaining 25 minutes in a different jersey.

The half would really spring to life in the last 10 minutes, starting when Greg Cunningham played through the Tribesmen’s top scorer Stephen Walsh, but a challenge from Lincoln City loanee Hayden Cann would force a corner.

One minute into the additional five, former Galway United player Aodh Dervin would put a hard challenge on Greg Cunningham, leaving the fullback holding his leg for a prolonged period of time. Both benches were up in arms, with another card being shown to the most penalised sideline in the league in Galway United.

Due to the lengthy delay, referee Eoghan O’Shea would allow extra time on top of the minimum of five minutes already granted, which Dundalk took full advantage of in the 96th minute when Ryan O’Kane picked out a beautiful cross for Eoin Kenny, who placed his header into the bottom right corner,
ensuring that Jon Daly’s men would get their first point in over a month.