Galway United came out of a busy bank holiday weekend with plenty of pride and two points to show for their efforts at home to St Pat’s and away to Derry City.
Three seemed more likely, as they both trailed and led in injury time in either game, but two more late goals settled the scores. United have now drawn three on the spin and will feel they left points behind them in that spell.
Despite their dominance in Waterford and doggedness against Pat’s, United have sometimes struggled to put complete ninety plus minute performances together. Often, they are only a whisker short.
There have been goals after the 85th minute to cost them points in Derry, Waterford, Bohemians, St Pat’s and at home to Drogheda. It only worked in their favour against Pat’s at home. They could have another six points had none of these gone in.
As it stands, United maintain their healthy 11-point cushion over Waterford. No one would have foreseen this at the start of the season, when there were no obvious candidates to be cut adrift.
Sligo have also surprised in how rapidly they have improved after a slow start. Dundalk are showing signs of regression after vastly exceeding their expectations early in the season. Since beating United, they have taken only one point out of a possible nine.
Friday’s opponents Shamrock Rovers are firmly back on track after slipping up in Celtic Park. They have won five out of their last six, that form should intimidate the rest of the league. Their first emphatic win of the season was on Monday when they beat Drogheda 4-1.
They are getting plenty of change out of an impressive cohort of attacking options. Jack Byrne is playing regularly and playing well after his difficulties last season. At only 30, he is already assured of his position as one of the greats of this league.
Victor Ozhianvuna has featured in every league game so far, most from the start. Galway crowds should get their first chance to see him play senior football in Eamonn Deacy Park tomorrow night.
John McGovern was the hero on Monday with two goals and one assist. Michael Noonan and Dylan Watts didn’t even need to be disturbed from their perches on the bench.
Therefore, it seems as tall an order as any for United to end their dismal run against Rovers. They do bring some positivity into the game. The shape and performance in Derry were promising.
A bigger negative than Kevin Dos Santos’s late equaliser was an apparent injury suffered by Gianfranco Facchineri. The defender hadn’t missed a minute this season until his substitution, and he would represent a big loss for United.
More promisingly, Jimmy Keohane made only a second start since mid-March after suffering from injuries. He will strengthen John Caulfield’s options all over the pitch given his class and versatility.
Arthur Parker remains a miss at right wing-back that may be exacerbated should Connor Barratt need to be deployed more centrally.
So far, John Caulfield has come up with the solutions this season. Tomorrow might be the biggest test to date.
