The points were shared at the RSC on Friday night, with Waterford and Galway playing out a 0-0 draw in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
The Blues had the majority of possession, but they were unable to break down John Caulfield's side who had the best chances on the night.
Even when Ryan Burke was sent-off for a second yellow card in the 89th minute, the Tribesmen were unable to take the three points.
The first opening, for either team, came from a Darragh Power cross that was knocked away by Jeannot Esua and David Hurley. Their clearance put the ball into the path of Rowan McDonald and a venous shot by the midfielder was pushed out for a corner by Brendan Clarke in the 12th minute.
Galway were forced into making a change once the game got back underway, and Reagan Donnellan was replaced with Al-Amin Kazeem. He slotted right in and helped Caulfield’s side to cut off passing lanes and routes to the goal.
The Tribesmen got forward by targeting the right wing, and tackles by Darragh Leahy and Burke gave two in-swinging free-kicks to Galway. The first was laid into the path of Hurley by Conor McCormack and the midfielder hit the side netting and the second was used to set-up Stephen Walsh, who had an acrobatic effort caught by Sam Sargeant.
Hurley then picked the pocket of Connor Parsons in midfield and played a quick pass to Walsh. The Waterford goalkeeper pushed the shot out for a corner, and the resulting set-piece was knocked out of play by the would-be scorer in the final seconds before the break.
It looked like the two teams had each other figured out during the second half as space was rare, and Waterford were comfortably dealing with Galway’s attempts at pulling them apart with set-pieces and long-throws from Edward McCarthy.
Christie Pattisson did manage to get around Esua, and he had to watch as the ball rolled inches away from the intended target.
The two managers still went for it, with Keith Long putting the pace of Niall O’Keeffe into midfield and Caulfield brought on former Waterford striker Wassim Aouachria in the 83rd minute.
Galway’s cause was helped by the dismissal of Burke, who received a second yellow card after fouling Aodh Dervin.
Padriag Amond could have won it at the death for Waterford, but he narrowly missed the target in injury time.
Waterford FC: Sam Sargeant; Darragh Power, Ryan Burke, Grant Horton, Rowan McDonald, Ben McCormack, Padraig Amond, Connor Parsons (Christie Pattisson 77), Maleace Asamoah (Connor Evans 85), Darragh Leahy, Harvey Macadam (Niall O’Keeffe 71).
Galway United: Brendan Clarke; Regan Donnellan (Al-Amin Kazeem 11), Rob Slevin, Killian Brouder, Stephen Walsh, David Hurley, Karl O’Sullivan, Vincent Borden (Wassim Aouachria 83), Conor McCormack, Edward McCarthy (Aodh Dervin 67), Jeannot Esua.
Referee: Paul Norton
