Galway United earn a draw to end Shamrock Rovers' winning run at the top
Galway United 0
SHAMROCK ROVERS STUTTERED to a stalemate against Galway United but after five successive wins it means this draw will only feel like a missed opportunity heading into the mid-season break rather than something more dramatic.
The Hoops remain six points clear at the top of the Premier Division, the same advantage they had at the start of the night with Drogheda United and Bohemians leading the chasing pack.
Galway were full value for the point and it's a sign of the division's strength they only jumped one place to seventh as a result.
Frustrating nights like this felt like they had a greater consequence for Stephen Bradley's side last season, as their grip on the title was loosened.
Now they are the pace setters and as they drove forward looking for a late winner it was more in hope than desperation. Had they managed to nick it in one of the five minutes of added time then maybe it would be looked back on as a significant night, instead it may well be quickly forgotten as players break until mid June.
The best moment of the first half came on 26 minutes when Aaron McEneff ghosted into the box off the shoulder of David Hurley and produced an eye-catching bicycle kick from 12 yards after being picked out by Danny Grant's cross on the right.
The ball fizzed over the bar but between the sight of his body contorting in mid air and the sweet connection it was enough to awaken the crowd from a midsummer night slumber.
It felt like one of those lazy evenings, not due to any lack of industry or effort, merely activity in either box.
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As the half wore on and Galway nullified the league leaders, the natural subplot to follow was the impact of Josh Honohan down Rovers' left. He links up with the senior Republic of Ireland squad this weekend ahead of the friendlies with Senegal and Luxembourg.
His international debut will surely come and manager Heimir Hallgrímsson and assistant John O'Shea were in Tallaght Stadium to take in proceedings.
He fed one nice pass for Graham Burke to deliver a dangerous cross after nine minutes but other than that his most telling contributions were forgettable ones; mis controlling a diagonal switch of play out for a Galway throw and then being needlessly caught offside when he was looking across the line.
This is the kind of scrutiny that comes for any Ireland player, especially one who it seems is about to take the next step in his club career as clubs in the United Kingdom step up their interest.
Bradley acknowledged as much this week, admitting it will be a battle to keep hold of the defender this summer, but he still had no qualms about substituting him for 16-year-old Victor Ozhianvuna on 59 minutes after a below par start to the second half.
Rovers' Josh Honohan with Jeannot Esua. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Rovers' biggest threat before half time came from the other side when right wing back Danny Grant drove forward, then cut across the 18-yard box before forcing Evan Watts to push his left-footed shot around the post.
That remained Rovers' only shot until a tame Michael Noonan header drifted over the bar on 67 minutes.
Two penalty appeals had been turned down either side of the break by referee Kevin O'Sullivan. The first was a Burke shot from distance that ricocheted off Rob Slevin's thigh onto his arm, before a coming together between Burke and Greg Cunningham on 54 minutes led to the Hoops forward going down in the area.
The hosts remained frustrated and John Caulfield's men resolute, but Bradley could at least turn to quality off the bench to try and find a breakthrough.
As well as Ozhianvuna – who is seemingly bound for Arsenal – coming on, last season's player of the year, Dylan Watts, replaced Jack Byrne, and playmaker Danny Mandroiu got the last half hour in place of McEneff.
Veteran Aaron Greene also got the nod when Noonan's race was run for the last quarter of an hour, with defender Adam Mathews also withdrawn for striker Rory Gaffney.
But with Cian Byrne sitting in front of the Galway defence, and Vince Borden supplementing that defensive work alongside David Hurley and Patrick Hickey, space was congested in the final third.
Galway also began to sense more opportunities on the counter and with set-pieces to add another layer of danger.
Ozhianvuna had two shots from the near the edge of the box, neither of which found the target, and for the final 10 minutes it was one-way traffic. Galway, though, were doing a great job of creating a bottleneck and Rovers had no way through.
Shamrock Rovers: Ed McGinty; Adam Mathews (Rory Gaffney 76), Roberto Lopes, Cory O'Sullivan; Danny Grant, Matt Healy, Jack Byrne (Dylan Watts 69), Aaron McEneff (Danny Mandroiu 59), Graham Burke, Josh Honohan (Victor Ozhianvuna 59); Michael Noonan (Aaron Greene 69)
Galway United: Evan Watts; Jeannot Esua, Garry Buckley, Rob Slevin, Greg Cunningham (Robert Burns 57); Patrick Hickey, Cian Byrne, Ed McCarthy, David Hurley (Conor McCarthy 76), Vincent Borden (Stephen Walsh 89); Moses Dyer (Killian Brouder 89).
Referee: Kevin O'Sullivan.
Attendance: 6,204.
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