St Patrick's Athletic 1 Galway United 2:Tony Cousins continues to cast his net wide in the search for players capable of adding quality to a Galway side that have struggled to make an impact since winning promotion to the Premier Division. With four goals in just three starts to his name now, however, it might just be Mayoman Derek Glynn who turns out to be the young manager's most important discovery of the season.

The league leaders had lost two of their previous five games before last night's encounter at Richmond Park.

But their record at home in the league remained virtually flawless before the 24-year-old striker's two finely taken goals condemned them to a defeat.

St Patrick's had led briefly after Mark Quigley produced an opportunistic lob to finish after Barry Ryan's long kick out had been flicked on by Gary O'Neill.

United, though, had levelled within five minutes thanks to a wonderful, curling shot by Glynn, and they became increasingly dominant as the game wore on.

Their winner, 15 minutes from time, was the product of tireless pressure and another piece of cool finishing.

After that they comfortably saw the game out to claim a second successive victory for the first time this year.

The home side looked a shadow of the outfit that was so easily dominating visitors to Richmond Park back in March and April. The fluency to their football back then was absent here and with it, apparently, was their ability to retain possession when playing out of defence.

Last night the ball was carelessly given away far too often, a shortcoming that Cousins's side might have capitalised upon more ruthlessly.

Even before his goals, though, Glynn looked a menacing presence around the Dubliners' area, while Philip Reilly and Derek O'Brien both exploited the space left open before them on occasion down the right-hand side of the home side's defence to generate some optimism among the small band of travelling fans.

At the back, United defended well against a side that might have been expected to open them up more effectively. There was repeated pressure from setpieces, with Gary Rogers forced to react quickly to keep an Anto Murphy header out, but nothing of real note from play before the game's first goal half an hour in.

Cousins anchored his back four around League of Ireland veteran Wesley Charles, but its star is a far more recent import, Regi Nootimeer, who, having started the season at centre back, looked impressive at right back here.

Ciarán Foley, meanwhile, marshalled things neatly in midfield and played a pivotal role for most of his side's better passing sequences. His loss at half-time, presumably to injury, should have been a setback, and Alan Murphy and John Russell did struggle for a while to contain Alan Kirby and Keith Fahey in what became a scrappier contest.

Galway, though, had much the better of it and might have taken the lead on a couple of occasions before Glynn bagged his second thanks to a wayward header under pressure by Darragh Maguire who had, moments earlier, prevented what looked a certain goal with a brilliant challenge on O'Flynn.

ST PATRICK'S ATHLETIC: Ryan; Brennan, Maguire, Paisley, Frost (Connor, 70 mins); Murphy, Mulcahy, Fahey, Kirby (M Foley, 78 mins); O'Neill (Guy, 70 mins), M Quigley.

GALWAY UNITED: Rogers; Nooitmeer, Lester, Charles, Reilly; James, Foley (Russell, h-t), Murphy, O'Brien; O'Flynn, Glynn (Cooke, 82 mins).

Referee: A Buttimer (Cork).