Galway Utd 1 Rovers 1

Rovers almost snatch all the points..

The Hoops needed to battle hard throughout this tie as the home side went looking for all three points to help in their survival bid and Hoops 'keeper Robert Duggan was in superb form with a string of fine saves especially in the second half. In a lively opening the home side should have scored as early as the seventh minute when Jorgensen somehow let the ball run between his legs in front of goal after Keanes fine low cross had beaten Duggan. The home side continued to make the early running but the Hoops gradually got into the game and O'Connors good run set up Madden to supply a cross for Ndo but the header lacked direction.

Amond ran across the home sides box after 23 mins to set up O'Connor but his curling effort was straight at the 'keeper. Ndo and Amond combined well five minutes later but couldn't get behind the home defence. Daragh Maguire was making some good defensive headers while at the other end Ndo almost got Purcell in on goal. Ger O'Brien had to be strong after 34 minutes to hold off an attacker as Duggan came to claim the ball.

Amond was unlucky in the 35th minute when he controlled Maddens cross and turned in the area but Rogers advanced from his line to cut out the threat. Lester fired a fine shot that just cleared the Rovers crossbar on 38 minutes. Amond found the net just before the break from Ndo's through ball but the linesman flagged for offside.

Just 50 seconds into the second period Rovers survived another scare when Keane hit the side-netting from close range. Ex-Hoop Alan Murphy came on in the second-half and his cross in the 66th minute just eluded Keane and Jorgensen. At the other end Rice almost found Ndo in space in the box with a cross. The game entered a barren period although there was plenty of effort from both sides including some trickery from Ndo but with the Hoops playing just Purcell up front it was the home side that carried the real threat.

In the 78th minute Duggan pushed away a Jorgensen shot for a corner. The resultant kick fell to the edge of the area and Duggan was on hand to brilliantly save a goal bound shot. From the corner the ball flew around the Rovers box like a pinball before finally being scrambled away to safety. Somewhat against the run of play, in the 81st minute Joseph Ndo first won and then took a corner that saw Daragh Maguire rise to head powerfully past Rogers for the opening goal.

The goal led to a hectic last 13 minutes including added-on time. Duggan raced from his line to take the ball of the toe of an attacker but the resultant corner was headed home by Jorgensen for the equaliser. The home side pushed on and Duggan was on hand to dive to his left to keep out a fine volley. Jorgensen then found himself in space inside the area but he dragged his shot across goal. However after soaking up all the pressure the Hoops almost won the game in the dying minutes when Rice pounced on a stray pass and raced towards goal. Only the combined efforts of 'keeper Rogers and a last gasp tackle kept the Galway goal intact.