Galway United claimed a memorable 2-1 victory over St Patrick's Athletic at their home opener at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night.
Two goals in a seven minute stretch from American Patrick Hickey proved to be the difference for Galway.
A worldie from Aidan Keena made it 2-1 but Galway United hung on for a hugely emotional win
Manager John Caulfield lost his mother Nora this week. Her funeral took place today and not many expected to see Caulfield on the sideline for the game.
However, he was there at the behest of his father, according to Caulfield's assistant Ollie Horgan, who handled media duties post-match on Virgin Media Sport. Paying his condolences to the O'Keefe and Caulfield families, Horgan said:
"It was probably a fitting end to the week. It's been a tough week for John. A tough week for all of us involved, but it's a great way to finish it if there's a good way to finish it."
When it was put to him that it was a surprise to see him on the sideline tonight, Horgan said:
That’s John. He wasn’t going to be here. His dad told him to come. And his dad is a supporter of ours at the age he is. that’s what it’s all about."
"I'd say John's mother was looking down here tonight," Horgan added.
Hickey shared the sentiment in his post-match interview, saying the players wanted to put in a big performance for their manager.
It was another disappointing result for St Pats, who only have one point from two games. The club were hotly tipped to win the league by many pundits but they haven't maintained their end of season form.
They've also been on the wrong side of a number of key refereeing decisions in both games this season, as their manager Stephen Kenny pointed out tonight.
