Letterkenny Rovers find going too tough in National League opener
Letterkenny Rovers endured a difficult start to their FAI National League campaign as they fell to a 4-1 defeat away to Salthill Devon in Galway.
Salthill Devon 4-1 Letterkenny Rovers
Rovers kicked off but it was Salthill Devon who started brightest with a few early half chances falling for Cole Connolly and Richard-Miguel Lapointe-Guevara.
The home side looked confident but the crowd in NLP Park were stunned into silence when, against the run of play, midfielder Adam McCaffrey picked the ball up on the edge of the Salthill area and rifled a shot into the back of the net to give Letterkenny an early lead and their first ever goal of the the new third tier of Irish football.
Devon responded well, forcing multiple set pieces but failing to trouble Patrick McGarvey in goal.
Ben McDonnell was a constant threat on the right-flank while Connolly was a handful for the Letterkenny defence throughout.
Then the moment came for Salthill. A ball out wide found McDonnell in space, the winger meandering into the box before being bowled over by Keith Cowan leaving referee Ray Conlon with no choice but to award a penalty despite the Letterkenny protests.
The experienced Timmy Molloy stepped up and made no mistake, slotting the ball past McGarvey's left to level the game at one apiece.
The home side were ignited, the Rovers back line under constant pressure and Salthill should have had a second when McDonnell's low cross wasn't dealt with by the Letterkenny centre-backs, the loose ball falling to Jacob Carroll but his shot was well saved by McGarvey.
McDonnell was again the instigator just minutes later, his perfectly weighted lobbed pass was squared across the box by Connolly into the path of Molloy who looked certain to double his tally only for his shot to fly high and wide of the goal, leaving Letterkenny relieved to enter the half-time break with the scores still level at 1-1
Salthill restarted and picked up where they left off with early chances falling to McDonnell and Connolly, the latter aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty when he claimed to have been pushed inside the Rovers six-yard box. Letterkenny slowly grew into the game with their best chance coming when Zach Gorman was fouled by Shane O'Rourke right on the edge of the area, Gorman himself taking the resulting free-kick but his strike was well held by Gavriliak.
Cunningham’s side continued to push for a second, and their efforts were rewarded when McDonnell again drilled a low cross into the penalty area and Connolly slid in to bundle the ball over the line and give his side a 2-1 lead.
Rovers battled on, their best chances coming through a number of set-piece chances, and their fortunes looked to have flipped when the referee awarded a penalty after a handball in the box by Salthill midfielder Nnabuike Nneji.
Zach Gorman stepped up to take a crucial spot-kick for Letterkenny, but his effort was blazed over the bar as the game entered the final ten minutes.
Manager Stephen McConnell emptied his bench in a desperate effort to salvage something from the game, and the home side took full advantage as McDonnell once again cut inside from the wing before curling a beautiful left-footed strike in the bottom right corner to make it 3-1.
The home crowd were buoyant but their side weren’t done yet, as substitute Joshua Keane Quinlivan broke free on a late counter-attack to slide the ball home and wrap up all three points for Salthill, giving Cunningham’s side the perfect start to their FAI National League campaign.
Disappointment for Letterkenny Rovers, they now have a week to recover as they prepare to host Mayo FC next Saturday 5th September with kick-off at 4pm in Leckview Park.
Salthill Devon: David Gavriliak; Al-Amin Obasa, Jamal Sow (Osakpolor Omorodion 75’), Cameron Crowe (c), Shane O'Rourke, Nnabuike Nneji, Timmy Molloy, Jacob Carroll (Joshua Keane Quinlavan 72’), Ben McDonnell, Ricardo-Miguel Lapointe-Guevara (Ronan Kerin 72'), Cole Connolly (Darren Darcy 85’).
Letterkenny Rovers: Patrick McGarvey; Padraic Gilsenan (Luke Parke 72'), Brendan McCafferty (Ultan O’Grady 85’), Dean McCarry, Keith Cowan, Adam McCaffrey, Ryan Shields, Adrian Delap, Zach Gorman (Gareth Doherty 82’), Shane McNamee (Cathal McGeever 85’), Ronan McHugh (Jamie Harris 77').
Referee: Ray Conlon