Kris Twardek's first Galway United goal was not enough for all three points as the Tribesmen shared the spoils with Shelbourne in a battling display at Tolka Park.
Despite points dropped from a winning position, this was a massive result for United whose defence stood firm despite an onslaught of Shels attacks. Evan Watts made a couple of crucial saves to save his side from defeat.
Both sides' intentions were clear from the outset with United settling into their compact 5-3-2 shape that has become a familiar sight with John Caulfield's United teams over the last two seasons. Shels dominated possession from the first minute, keeping the ball moving from left to right and trying to draw the Tribesmen out of their shape.
United were aggressive in their tackling and disciplined in their shape, successfully frustrating Joey O'Brien's side. By the 20th minute, Shels lacked ideas, with their primary attacking focus being getting to the by-line and forcing crosses into the box.
But those crosses lacked quality, and it played into the United defence's hands with the trio of Killian Brouder, Gianfranco Facchineri and Wasiri Williams embracing the aerial challenges which came at them. This was the United defence's bread and butter.
Harry Wood was the biggest Shelbourne threat, constantly jinking and asking questions of the United backline. The most threatening Shels attack came from a fine Wood pass in behind to John Martin. But the Shelbourne number 10's cutback to Wood asked too much of him.
Going into the break, Caulfield would have undoubtedly been the happier of the two managers. As far as away performances go, this was exactly what the United manager would have wanted.
In a largely frustrating half for Shels, in which they recorded 72 per cent of the ball, they lacked attacking incisiveness and vigour. United on the other hand were imperious, despite Shels getting 10 shots away, only one was on target. Watts was largely untroubled.
For all of United's defensive prowess, they did look dangerous when they got into the final third, particularly from set-pieces. Francely Lamboto and Stephen Walsh again linked well on occasion.
The second-half made up for the first's lack of goalmouth action and some.
Caulfield was proactive from the bench, introducing new signings Tawrdek and Connor Barratt in the 53rd minute for Walsh and Lamboto. A move that prompted a tactical shift to a 5-4-1 with Barratt moving into midfield and Twardek leading the line. O'Brien responded with a roll of the dice of his own - a triple substitution on the hour mark.
But it was United who broke the deadlock on the hour mark through Twardek, scoring his first goal for the Tribesmen, and what a goal it was. Beautiful United interplay on the right wing between Keohane and Williams resulted in a lobbed through ball into Hurley's path as he broke into the Shels area and the midfielder pulled it back perfectly for Twardek to slot home from six yards out.
United's lead lasted a matter of a seconds. A long ball from the kick-off led to Williams mistiming his clearance and catching substitute Rodrigo Freitas to present the 2024 champions with a golden opportunity to level.
Wood made no mistake as he sent Watts the wrong way to fired his penalty to the right of the United goalkeeper.
The Tolka Park faithful, who had been silenced all night, had firmly found their voice now. Shels' tails were up. Watts may not have been called on regularly but his concentration remained bulletproof. Shels broke after a United attack and found themselves in a four-on-one situation with Parker the last man back for United. Kerr McInroy was played through with just Watts to beat, but he fired his shot low into Watts midriff.
The Shels pressure was relentless. Minutes later and the Welsh 'keeper was called into action almost immediately after, pulling off a heroic save on Maill Lundgrun to deny a certain a goal as the Shels winger attempted a curled effort into the far right corner.
The Tribesmen got their bearings and rediscovered the concentration that was the hallmark of the first 60 minutes. Shels went down to 10 men late on after Odhran Casey went off with a hamstring problem and had no substitute spots left. Additional time petered out and the points were shared.
United are on the board for the season. Every point matters for Caulfield's team this season and any team in the division would snap your hand off for a point at Tolka Park. United can take great encouragement from a performance embodied by character, discipline, and grit. United's strength in depth now is particularly encouraging.
With a Connacht derby on the horizon, United should be confident that their first win of the season cannot be too far away.
