Waterford FC 2 Galway United 2
An equaliser deep in injury time cost Waterford FC all three points against Galway United in a thriller at the RSC.
Keith Long made two changes from the game with Wexford on Monday with Christie Pattison and Roland Idowu coming back into the starting eleven in place of Romeo Akachukwu and Serge Atakayi
The Blues took just 35 seconds to open the scoring when Ronan Coughlan intercepted the ball in the centre of the park. He found Roland Idowu who fed Christie Pattisson on the right and the winger raced into the area before putting the ball across the six yard box where Coughlan was waiting to turn the ball home.
The sides were level on 17 minutes when a defensive lapse allowed Killian Brouder to poke the ball home with Sam Sargeant caught flat footed.
The Blues were back in front five minutes later when Conor Parsons got the ball on the left, passed inside to Barry Baggley whose perfect cross was met by Coughlan and he gave Brendan Clarke no chance with the header. In doing so, he broke the League of Ireland First Division and Waterford league goalscoring record with his 31st goal of the season.
The second half was a real game of cat and mouse with both sides making little inroads. There was disaster for the home side on 77 minutes when Baggley was forced off with a serious looking arm injury which may put him out for a few weeks and Blues’ hearts were broken deep in injury time when a free kick from Brendan Clarke was pinged into the area and when the ball broke it was substitute Francely Lomboto who blasted it through the melee and into the net for an equaliser that was scarcely deserved.
WATERFORD FC: Sam Sargeant, Niall O’Keeffe, Giles Phillips, Eddie Nolan, Ryan Burke, Barry Baggley (Serge Atakayi ’77), Sam Perry, Christie Pattisson (Romeo Akachukwu ’69), Roland Idowu, Connor Parsons (Kilian Cantwell ’90), Ronan Coughlan (Cameron Cresswell ’90).
GALWAY UNITED: Brendan Clarke, Colm Horgan (Evan O’Connor ’42), Rob Slevin, Killian Brouder, Regan Donelon (Oisin O’Reilly ’81), Conor McCormack (Rob Manley ’86), Ed McCarthy, Aodh Dervin (Francely Lomboto ’46), Ronan Manning (Wassim Aouachria ’46), David Hurley, Stephen Walsh.
Referee: Alan Patchell (Dublin).
