Galway United 1, UCD 2

It was another Friday night of heartbreak for Galway United as they slipped to a crushing one goal defeat at the hands of relegation rivals UCD in Terryland Park.

A second minute goal from Brian King and a straight red card for John Lester 10 minutes later ensured United got off to the worst of starts, but they once more showed a fine fighting spirit to drag themselves back into contention.

A second half Alan Murphy strike – his second of this spell at Terryland – gave renewed hope but a Timmy Purcell strike with five minutes remaining was the hammer-blow that United could not recover from.

United's bizarre ability to concede early goals resurfaced as King fired the students ahead with two minutes on the clock. Shane Fitzgerald did all the damage, charging past an attempt at an offside trap and a poor challenge from Lester before pulling the ball back to the penalty spot for King to strike.

A terrible refereeing decision after 12 minutes saw United reduced to 10 men, and Lester can feel very harshly treated on this occasion. Purcell chased a long punt towards the end-line at the edge of the area. Lester – beaten for pace – lunged at the striker with a scissors tackle and hauled him to the ground. To the utter disbelief of all in attendance, Dublin referee Declan Hanney produced the red card claiming that Lester was the last man.

After going in at half-time one goal in arrears United struck back after an hour's play. Seamus Conneely charged down the right side and played a neat ball to Jesper Jorgensen. The Danish striker appeared to be hacked down inside the area, but as the home fans appealed for a spot kick, Murphy's deflected shot from the edge of the box looped over Matt Greg for the equaliser.

United looked set to built on their goal, but with five minutes remaining, they contrived to shoot themselves in the foot again. A shot from reserve Ronan Finn fell to the feet of Purcell after United failed to clear their lines and the striker fired home into the top corner of Gary Rogers net, giving the visitors maximum return from this relegation six-pointer.

Galway United: Rogers; Kenna, Lester, Fitzgerald, McCulloch; O'Shea, Russell (Foley, 90), Murphy, Daveron (Glynn, 84); Molloy (Conneely, 15), Jorgensen.

UCD: Gregg; Mahon, McMillan, McNally, Kenna; McWalter, King, Duggan (Finn, 73), Fitzgerald; Meenan, Purcell (Bolger, 88).

Referee: D Hanney (Dublin).

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