Shamrock Rovers held by Galway United but maintain lead at the top

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Shamrock Rovers 0-0 Galway United
Shamrock Rovers couldn't take advantage of their nearest rivals Drogheda United dropping points, but they still head into the mid-season break with a six-point lead at the top of the Premier Division.
It was a frustrating evening for the Hoops against Galway United, as John Caulfield's side put up a solid defensive display.
Caulfield punched the air at the final whistle to signal his delight at a job well done.
Having lost four on the bounce before last weekend's win over Cork City, it was another confidence boost for the Tribesmen, particularly as it came against a side that had won their previous five games.
Heimir Hallgrímsson and John O'Shea turned up but, unfortunately for Josh Honohan, the same couldn't be said for the Rovers wing-back.
It was an uncharacteristically quiet night for the 24-year-old, thanks in a large part to the performance of Galway United' Cameroonian full-back Jeannot Esua.
But Honohan has more than done enough over the past season and a half at Tallaght Stadium, both at home and in Europe, to merit the attention of the Ireland boss.
Taken off just before the hour for Rovers' exciting Under-17 international Victor Ozhianvuna, he can now look forward to his first week of senior Ireland duty.
It wasn't just Esua who was playing the spoiler role for the visitors.
After a dominant start, in which the Tribesmen pinned their hosts back and came close to scoring through Vincent Borden, they retreated into a formidable defensive shape and soaked up lots of pressure.
With Garry Buckley and Rob Slevin at the heart of their rearguard action, Galway kept the Premier Division leaders a safe distance from goal.
They gave goalkeeper Evan Watts plenty of protection, and the on-loan Swansea City youngster only had to dirty his gloves twice in the first-half.
The first was 12 minutes in, when Aaron McEneff attempted to bend the ball inside the right-hand post, but was denied by the flying Welshman.
McEneff's effort was the last of a flurry of activity around the Galway box. Slevin did a brilliant job of cutting out Graham Burke's low cross from the left, with Michael Noonan lurking behind him.
The Galway defender could easily have diverted the ball into his own net, but got his angles spot-on to send the ball to safety.
Buckley deflected a Noonan shot over, while Jack Byrne drilled a low 25-yard shot well wide during that dangerous spell.
Midway through the first-half, Danny Grant's cross was met acrobatically by McEneff, but his bicycle kick cleared the crossbar.
Noonan was constantly on the shoulder of the last defender, inviting his teammates to tee him up for a run on goal.
When Byrne did just that, with a pass from deep inside Rovers territory, the 16-year-old sprinted towards goal, with Graham Burke in support.
Burke opted to run inside, rather than continue on Noonan's right, and that squeezed the space available to his young teammate, who still got his shot off, but saw it spin wide off a Galway boot.
Watts' second stop, low to his left, denied Grant six minutes before the break, while moments later Rovers had a loud penalty appeal waved away, after Burke's shot hit Slevin on the knee and then the hand.
Galway defender Buckley had a big let-off seven minutes into the second-half when he got his foot to McEneff's low centre and sent the ball just wide of his own goal.
Hoops boss Stephen Bradley turned to an embarrassment of riches on his bench to try to break the deadlock, with Danny Mandroiu, Ozhianvuna, Rory Gaffney, Aaron Greene and Dylan Watts all coming on.
There were chances for Ozhianvuna and Gaffney, but they could not break the deadlock.
Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty 6; Adam Matthews 6 (Rory Gaffney 76), Roberto Lopes 6, Cory O'Sullivan 7; Danny Grant 6, Aaron McEneff 6 (Danny Mandroiu 59, 6), Matthew Healy 6, Jack Byrne 6 (Dylan Watts 69, 6), Josh Honohan 6 (Victor Ozhianvuna 59, 6); Graham Burke 7, Michael Noonan 7 (Aaron Greene 69, 6).
Galway United: Evan Watts 7; Jeannot Esua 8, Garry Buckley 8, Robert Slevin 8, Greg Cunningham 7 (Robert Burns 57, 6); David Hurley 6 (Conor McCormack 76), Vincent Borden 6 (Stephen Walsh 89), Cian Byrne 7, Ed McCarthy 6; Patrick Hickey 6, Moses Dyer 6 (Killian Brouder 89).
Referee: Kevin O'Sullivan