Galway United 1
Athlone Town 0
Former Athlone Town striker Enda Curran netted the only goal of a drab game as SSE Aitricity League Premier Division newcomers Galway United defeated the Midlanders at Eamonn Deacy Park on Saturday evening.
Galway boss Tommy Dunne paid tribute to Athlone, who were honest throughout. “It was a difficult test,” Dunne said. “Athlone Town provided us with a really good workout and from our point of view these are the types of games we want because it highlighted a few things that we need to work on. We’re a bit off where we need to be at the moment.”
Garbhan Coughlan spurned an early opportunity for the visitors, who fell behind in the 15th minute. Curran, who played a leading role in Athlone’s First Division winning campaign in 2013, supplied the finishing touch following a Jason Molloy corner.
Coughlan went close twice for Athlone before the break as Eddie Wallace’s charges continued to battle. After the restart Eric Foley fizzed an effort narrowly wide, while Galway custodian Connor Gleeson thwarted Derek Doyle.
