Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Behind the Lines Sportswriters discuss their careers and the work that inspires them. Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Referee Robert Hennessy speaks to Greg Cunningham after disallowing his sides opening goal before he changed his decision and allowed the goal.James Crombie/INPHO Freehonours even Controversy as Galway earn point against Shelbourne An unhappy Damien Duffy picked up a booking for protesting the contentious goal. 9.59pm, 3 Mar 2025 Share options Galway United 1 Shelbourne 1 SHELS REMAIN unbeaten and Galway United take another precious point. However, the result was not the main talking point from this game. It will be remembered for a chaotic turn of events at the hour mark. The old adage of the referee never changing his mind was disproven when Rob Hennessy disallowed and then awarded an equaliser for the home team. Galway United celebrated an own goal that came after a Regan Donelon corner that John Martin headed home in error. Assistant referee Darren Corcoran, however, kept his flag raised for offside. Advertisement Initially, Rob Hennessy backed his linesman and indicated a free out. There were ructions on the touchline and terraces as the United players, bench and terraces were incensed at the injustice. Replays showed the ball clearly coming off a Shels player’s head, rendering the position of Rob Slevin irrelevant. Somehow, word of the mistake filtered back to the referee. To his credit, he had the fortitude to overturn his decision and award the goal. They will not see it like that in Drumcondra as Damien Duff’s yellow card showed the Shels manager was unhappy. He would argue that the referee’s decision should be final. The drama stood in contrast to a tepid opening half, where a snapshot from Martin and a spilt cross from Conor Kearns were the only significant moments of note. There was an immediate improvement in the second. Ellis Chapman had a snapshot from the edge of the box that stirred the contest into life. The invention of Harry Wood broke the deadlock a minute later. He pounced on a loose ball and picked out Evan Caffrey at the far stick. The wing-back steered it into the bottom corner. Moses Dyer had a big chance straight after but Conor Kearns pulled off an incredible and brave save. Kearns’ opposite number, Brendan Clarke, kept out Paddy Barrett and Lewis Temple in a helter-skelter second half. Shels shaded it but could not convert their chances as they grudgingly had to accept a point. Galway United: Clarke; Esua, Slevin, Brouder, Cunningham, Donelon (Burns 73); Byrne, Keohane (Tollett 90), Borden (McCarthy 90); Hickey (Hurley 90), Walsh (Dyer 52) Shelbourne: Kearns; Caffrey, Temple, Barrett, Ledwidge, Norris; Wood (Coote 79), Lunney (Coyle 73), Chapman; Martin (McInroy 73), Odubeko (Boyd 62) Referee: Rob Hennessy Caomhán O'Connell View 3 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Controversy as Galway earn point against Shelbourne”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Controversy as Galway earn point against Shelbourne”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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