Sporting swiftly stamp authority

AIRTRICITY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION Sporting Fingal 3 Galway Utd 1:IN-FORM Sporting Fingal simply had too much fire-power for Galway's porous defence as they enhanced their Europa League qualification prospects by regaining fourth place in the table.

A fourth successive heavy defeat consigns Galway to the relegation play-off with Bray Wanderers.

Sporting scored with their first real attack on three minutes. Ger O’Brien’s ball over the top was brilliantly controlled by Ronan Finn. The pullout back was put on a plate for Alan Kirby who swept home his third goal of the season.

If that was defended poorly, the marking was non-existent eight minutes later as Sporting doubled their lead. No one picked up Galway-born Colin Hawkins, who arrived to power home Conan Byrne’s corner with a header.

The lead ought to have been greater at the interval as the Galway goal lived a charmed life in the final minute of the half. First a deflected Gary O’Neill shot forced goalkeeper Darragh Geraghty to save at the feet of Glen Crowe at his right-hand post. From Byrne’s corner, Crowe thundered a header off the Galway crossbar.

Geraghty was twice in action early in the second half with saves from Kirby and then Byrne, before Galway came within inches of getting a goal back on 56 minutes. Stephen Walsh got a good flick header to substitute Tom King’s cross and Kenny Browne had to hack off the line.

Lorcan Fitzgerald eased any nerves when sealing Sporting’s win on 72 minutes when his speculative cross struck the far post with Geraghty only able to help the ball over the line.

Walsh then got Galway’s consolation goal on 85 minutes, beating Brendan Clarke with a stunning half volley from outside the box.

SPORTING FINGAL: Clarke; O'Brien, Hawkins, Browne, Fitzgerald (Cahill, 83 mins); Byrne, Finn, McFaul, Kirby; O'Neill, Crowe.

GALWAY UNITED: Geraghty; Preston-Kelly, Sinnott, McKenzie, Meynell; Molloy (King, 54 mins), Conneely, Curran, Walsh; O'Brien; K Sheppard.

Referee: D Hancock(Dublin).