It was Tyreke Wilson, the hero for Dundalk, as his side retrieved all three points, courtesy of his left-footed from outside the area, in a bizarre Galway home game played in Turners Cross on Friday Night.
Dundalk played some eye-catching front-footed football for the 454 in attendance in Cork and will be elated to win the game especially in the manner they did.
Galway United on the other hand had very little to offer the whole game, opting to give Dundalk the ball, with their only real threat being on the counter and a few touches of class from David Hurley.
Galway United Player Ratings:
Evan Watts – 6
Wasn’t tested much as Dundalk struggled to hit the target, but matched everything until the concession.
Arthur Parker – 5
Did decent going forward, but struggled dealing with Daryl Horgan in the first half as the winger got inside Parker and created mayhem at the expense of the full back.
Killian Brouder – 6
The standout performer in Galway’s defence, he did well majority of the game to block off any danger Dundalk tried to pose.
Gianfranco Facchineri – 5.5
Along with Parker, he struggled in dealing with the creativity of Daryl Horgan, but had the odd good contribution so wasn’t awful.
Lee Devitt – 5.5
Not much action came down his way defensively, but he struggled to get into it going forward and probably was underutilised whilst on the pitch.
Jimmy Keohane – 6
Didn’t do that much, struggled to get a foothold in the game really.
Conor McCarthy – 6.5
McCarthy held the base of Galway’s midfield well and controlled the tempo at times, but got exposed a small bit when Dundalk broke at pace.
Aaron Bolger – 6
Game bypassed him in large amounts, but when he got into it he created decently on the half turn, but needed larger spells of involvement.
Ed McCarthy – 6
Received the ball quite a bit out on the wing, but overall was a bit inconsistent, producing some quality but also wasting some good chances.
David Hurley – 7.5
Galway’s best player on the day, every attack that burst from the defence was strung together by the midfielder, did everything bar put it in the net himself.
Stephen Walsh – 7
Was probably Galway’s most problematic player in the attacking third, being a justice to the Dundalk cbs, just missed the clinical finish to cap it off.
Subs:
Frantz Pierrot – 6
Pierrot caused a lot of distress for Dundalk, but couldn’t get the ball out of his feet a lot when he got it, and couldn’t quite find a finish to snatch a goal.
Wasiri Williams – 6.5
Hard to judge is he only got a few chances, but created good plays when he did get it and was a spark off the bench.
Al Amin Kareem – 6.5
Similarly to Williams, Kazeem was fiery down the left hand side and did more havoc then most of the Galway attack prior to his introduction.
Axel Piosold – 6.0
Barely played.
Dundalk Player Ratings:
Enda Minogue – 6
Didn’t have much to do as Galway did not pose much of a threat in the firing line. Distribution was good. Good and bad moments when dealing with high balls
J.R Wilson – 6
Dundalk opted to utilise the opposite flank so did not get involved too often. Cross was lacklustre.
Rob Cornwall – 7
Dealt with aerial threats exceptionally well and got the better of Stephen Walsh.
Bobby Burns – 7.5
Playing out of position as a centre-half Burns was incredible in all aspects in possession and out.
Tyreke Wilson – 7
Man of the hour for his late goal. Crossing was poor at times.
Declan McDaid – 6
Didn’t get in the game throughout the game and was poor in the dribble when on the ball.
Aodh Dervin – 6
Decent performance from the midfielder. Got stuck into challenges. Got caught on the wrong side of the ball on counters but other than that an average performance.
Ronan Teahan – 7
First 90 mins in a while for the ex-Kerry midfielder. Showed great ability on the ball dribbling and spreading the ball onto the wings.
Daryl Horgan – 7.5
Was giving Arthur Parker an awful headache in the first half and got very good crosses into the box. Should’ve had a penalty in the first-half.
Danny Mullen – 6.5
Came alive in the second-half getting in good positions. Was wasteful with chances and poor in the air when needed.
Eoin Kenny – 6.5
Showed great pace and power when driving with the ball. Dropped into space to link-up play well and had great energy without the ball.
Subs:
Shane Tracey – 6.5
Kept the ball ticking once on the pitch. Did well in spreading the ball into wide areas.
Keith Buckley – 6.5
Contributed massively to the renewed control of the centre of the pitch once introduced.