Galway United Women should be delighted with their night’s work on Saturday. In front of a national TV audience, they displayed their talent with a comfortable 2-0 win over a decent DLR Waves team.
In the process they moved up to fourth in the table, overhauling Bohemian FC who were beaten heavily by Athlone Town. With just four games left to play, maintaining this position will be the goal. To finish ahead of Bohs, Wexford, and Athlone would represent a huge achievement.
Their handsome win came in front of a record attendance of 825 in Eamonn Deacy Park. The push by the club and its partners to bolster the attendance was positive and commendable. However, it also serves a reminder of the distance still needed to travel to make the women’s game self-sustaining.
Phil Trill’s players gave another reminder of their quality on the pitch. They were ahead early, with a Lynsey McKey corner again providing the genesis for a go-ahead goal.
After seven minutes, she lined up an in-swinger, and, as is becoming customary, Jamie Erickson got her head to it. She smashed it off the bar, and the rebound came back with such a force that it hurtled off a DLR defender and nestled in the corner of the net to give United the lead.
It was two shortly after, the goal again coming from another McKey corner. Though the visitors dealt with the delivery this time, they could only knock it back out to McKey who had ample time to control and swing it back in to the far post.
This time Eve Dossen rose highest to climb above her marker and head home for 2-0. It was destined to stay that way but if there were to be more goals, they probably should have also gone in a Galway direction.
Player of the Match McKey was involved again with one of the better chances of the second half, teeing up Jenna Slattery who pirouetted beautifully in the box to lose a defender. She then sidestepped another, went beyond a third, but her angle was too narrow by time she got her shot off.
Slattery sent Aislinn Meaney through as the clock ticked down. The slick striker did her best to pick out Abbie Callanan, but the ball whizzed across the six-yard box and away to safety.
Nonetheless, it was another impressive performance from a United side that astonishingly has not been beaten in normal time since June. The squad will enjoy a well-earned rest week this weekend.
