Dundalk 2-1 Galway United

DAVID MCMILLAN SCORED his fourth and fifth goals of the season to extend Dundalk’s lead at the top of the Premier Division to five points, as the champions saw off Galway United 2-1 at Oriel Park.

After a frustrating first half in which the home side dominated but couldn’t find a breakthrough, a scintillating second half showing put the Tribesmen to the sword in front of the TV cameras in north Louth.

Injuries to captain Stephen O’Donnell, Patrick McEleney and Ciaran Kilduff meant that Stephen Kenny didn’t have a particularly sizeable pack to shuffle for this one. However, John Mountney came in to replace Darren Meenan on the right side of midfield.

Having enjoyed a fine start to the league campaign, Tommy Dunne partnered the league’s top scorer Vinny Faherty with Enda Curran upfront in a show of ambition at the home of the league champions.

The main benefactor to the absences of O’Donnell and McEleney is Robbie Benson, a close season signing from UCD. After a quiet start to life in a Dundalk shirt, Benson started his second successive league game and had the two best chances in the opening half.

Mountney’s corner wasn’t fully cleared and the ball fell to Benson on the edge of the box. His first-time volley was sweetly struck but a yard wide of the post. Minutes later, Enda Curran brilliantly controlled a Colm Horgan ball over the top but the quality of his effort on goal didn’t match his take down and Gary Rogers gathered comfortably.

Benson went even closer to breaking the deadlock with his second effort. Mountney sent in a cross from the right that evaded everyone and when Daryl Horgan chipped in another cross from the left, the midfielder’s close-range header had to be tipped over by Winn.

Chances were, for the most part, at a premium in the first half, but that changed in the early stages of the second — what hadn’t changed was Dundalk’s inability to take them. In an early flurry, the Lilywhites had three gilt-edged opportunities in a matter of minutes.

Horgan and McMillan were guilty of blazing over from close range while Brian Gartland — usually so prolific in the air — headed well wide from a corner.

Eventually, more chances came and McMillan took them with aplomb. Horgan played in Benson and he crossed for the striker, who turned it in with his left foot on 69 minutes. Nine minutes later, Winn raced out to clear a ball forward and while he beat Horgan to it, McMillan scooped the ball into an empty net from all of 35 yards.

As the clock ticked into the fourth minute of just three added on, former Drogheda United midfielder Eric Foley worked his way into the area and beat Rogers with a low shot. It wasn’t quite the last kick, and the visitors did launch one last attack, but Dundalk held on.

DUNDALK: Gary Rogers, Sean Gannon, Andy Boyle, Brian Gartland, Dane Massey, Robbie Benson (Georgie Poynton, 90+1), Chris Shields, John Mountney, Ronan Finn (Paddy Barratt, 87), Daryl Horgan, David McMillan (Darren Meenan, 85).

Substitutes: Gabriel Sava, Shane Grimes, Anton Reilly, Keith Dalton.

GALWAY UNITED: Conor Winn, Colm Horgan, Killian Cantwell, Paul Sinnott, Stephen Walsh, Marc Ludden, John Sullivan, Alex Byrne (Eric Foley, 80), Gary Shanahan (Kevin Devaney, 78), Vinny Faherty, Enda Curran (Ruairi Keating, 70).

Substitutes: Kevin Horgan, Armin Aganovic, Conor Melody, Jesse Devers.

REFEREE: Ray Matthews (Longford)

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