Galway United ran riot against a struggling Longford Town side to earn a six-goal victory in the second round of the FAI Cup.
On a damp evening in the west, the quality between the two sides on show was stark as the hosts progressed.
Both clubs came into the FAI Cup fixture in contrasting form with Longford rooted to the foot of the First Division table while Galway sit three points below the European places in the Premier Division.
The Tribesmen, who went as far as last year's FAI Cup semi-final, started with real intent and netted two early goals to send John Caulfield’s outfit well on their way to a second round victory.
From the first whistle, it was evident that there was only going to be one winner in this tie as Maurice Nugent and Patrick Hickey saw clear-cut chances come and go inside the first 10 minutes before the deadlock was broken in the 11th minute.
Hickey - the match-winner in the league against Waterford last time out - continued where he left off as he demonstrated unselfish qualities to set up the first. That opener was scored by a lively Francely Lomboto who showed composure in the box before cannoning a left-footed strike into the roof of the net to give Galway the lead.
Two minutes later, John Caulfield’s outfit doubled their advantage when Nugent was the quickest to react to a goalmouth scramble prior to a third goal arriving in the 25th minute.
Longford’s inability to deal with set-pieces was apparent throughout as this time Hickey was the beneficiary when he met Conor McCormack’s inswinging corner kick to seal the eventual outcome of a very one-sided cup contest.
Both Jimmy Keohane and Hickey would have felt they could have added to the home team’s tally before the break but their efforts failed to hit the net to keep the scoreline as it was at half time.
In truth, the away side failed to create any notable chances in the 90 minutes as United continued to manufacture meaningful opportunities in the second period.
Just after the interval, Longford’s defence had to deal with waves of Galway attacks - the first from Lomboto when he tested goalkeeper Jack McCarthy with Hickey hitting the post from the follow-up.
A few minutes later, United striker Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe was in the thick of the action when his goalbound header was ruled out before he was unable to find the target with two more clear openings.
However, a fourth goal duly arrived in the 60th minute when David Hurley sent McCarthy the wrong way from the penalty spot after referee David Dunne pointed to the spot following a corner kick scuffle.
As Longford were on their feet, a fifth followed in the 68th minute, this time from former Rochdale man Keohane, as he latched onto Ogedi-Uzokwe's through ball to bag his first goal for the club.
After an energetic performance up front, Ogedi-Uzokwe deservingly netted his first goal on Corribside when he scooped an effort into the bottom corner in the 87th minute to finalise proceedings and put United’s name in the hat for the next round.
Galway United: Clarke; Brouder (Slevin 45), Nugent (Fitzgerald 62), Ogedi-Uzokwe, Hickey (Borden 62); Burns, Lomboto, Keohane (O’Keeffe 69), Horgan, McCormack (Hurley 29); Buckley.
Longford Town: McCarthy; Elworthy, O’Connor, Serdeniuk, Yoro; Wixted (Fay 69), James (Adeyemo 69), Topçu (Chambers 57), Lennox, Campbell (Lotefa 81); O’Shea (Hery 57).
Referee: David Dunne
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