Dundalk 2 Galway 1
DONAL MCDERMOTT’S FIRST goal for Dundalk and a screamer from John Mountney ensured Stephen Kenny’s side a place in their fourth successive FAI Cup quarter-final.
The Premier Division leaders picked a strong team to face a Galway side managed by a former Dundalk player in Tommy Dunne. Despite being in league action on Monday, Richie Towell, Brian Gartland, Sean Gannon, Chris Shields and Daryl Horgan all started.
Dunne had three names familiar to the Oriel faithful in his team. Gary Shanahan and Vinny Faherty have very recent history at Oriel but they could do nothing to help stem the Dundalk tide early on.
Sean Gannon was at his rampant best and almost capatilised on a Marc Ludden mistake before an almighty goalmouth scramble left John Mountney and David McMillan frustrated.
After a spell of significant pressure that saw Towell, Horgan and McDermott spurn chances, the breakthrough eventually came. Towell beat a lax Ludden to win a throw in. The midfielder took it quick, releasing Gannon down the right. He took his time to cross for McMillan. When his shot was blocked, McDermott was there to smash home his first goal for the club.
Galway came into this one buoyed by a win over Longford Town last week but a goal seemed a world away during a first half in which they failed to register a shot on goal.
Dundalk winger Daryl Horgan was directly up against his brother Colm, lining out at right back for the away side. Only once did we see the brothers in a foot race to the byline. The younger, much less heralded brother did well to match the winger’s run, albeit it coming at the expense of a corner.
In the second half, Mountney struck the post and McMillan saw a header drop just wide. While the full time scoreline may suggest a tight affair, this was anything but in reality. Had the home side produced better delivery from corners in particular, the result may have been much more representative of Dundalk’s domination.
On 72 minutes, Mountney scored what may be the goal of the cup round. From almost 30 yards out, his thunderbolt flew into the top corner and left Ger Hanley rooted to his spot in the Galway goal. With ten minutes remaining, a calamitous mix-up between Shields and Gabriel Sava allowed sub Pauric Cunningham’s shot to squirm over the line, setting up a nervy ending but Dundalk saw it through.
Stephen Kenny won’t say it, though he might be thinking it. The treble is on.
Dundalk: Gabriel Sava, Sean Gannon, Brian Gartland (Dane Massey, 79), Mark Rossiter, Chris Shields, Ruaidhri Higgins, Richie Towell, Daryl Horgan (Mark Griffin, 76), John Mountney, Donal McDermott (Keith Ward, 70), David McMillan.
Substitutes: Peter Cherrie, Patrick Hoban, Andy Boyle, Darren Meenan.
Galway: Ger Hanley, Colm Horgan, Marc Ludden, Stephen Walsh, Paul Sinnott, Ryan Connolly (Robbie Egan, 75), Jake Keegan (Enda Curran, 76), Vinny Faherty (Padraic Cunningham, 76), Jason Molloy, Gary Shanahan, Alex Byrne.
Substitutes: Richard Egan, Ryan Manning, Cormac Rafferty, Conor Gleeson.