Another Eamonn Deacy Park encounter is scheduled for Galway United tomorrow as John Caulfield's team hosts Cobh Ramblers in the SSE Airtricity League first division (7.45pm ).
Killian Brouder's firm second half header ensured United earned a gutsy victory over Waterford FC at the same venue which satisfied Caulfield. "It was a good win, we were very good from the start of the match really," Caulfield says.
"We took the game to Waterford, we know how good they are. They have some very talented players, they are very good on the counter attack. We got in at half-time at nil all, we certainly felt we had a few chances to get ahead. In the second half we kept our concentration levels, the support from the crowd was fantastic.
"There was a great noise coming from the terraces, you could see that the game was on a knife edge. Even though we had been playing well you could sense that one goal was probably going to win the match. Thankfully Killian Brouder got a fantastic header, it was a fantastic win, and it was great to keep a clean sheet too."
With Francely Lomboto and Stephen Walsh industrious in attack United's determination was a vital factor according to Caulfield. "We needed to get back to playing like we can which is high intensity and working really hard," he says.
"Certainly Francely came in, he gave a bit of freshness. Overall we were at it from the start. When you play one of the title contenders like Waterford, you need to be at your best. Thankfully we were. I just felt there was a tremendous buzz from the start, people can see at home that teams are coming to Terryland trying to hit us on the counter attack. It is up to us to break them down.
"I think the crowd could sense that the other night because they were really behind the team. They could see that the team was doing everything they could to try to get that goal. Thankfully we got the goal in the second half, but we had created a number of chances. [Brian] Murphy had made a number of very good saves for them. Overall to keep a clean sheet and win the game was very important."
Cobh Ramblers, with former Galway United boss Shane Keegan in charge, will be afforded the utmost respect by Caulfield. "Everyone at Galway United knows Shane, he was a previous manager when the team was in the premier division," Caulfield says.
"He is very much into very organised teams, so it will be interesting to see will he make many changes to the Cobh team, will he change their style. Cobh this season have been 4-4-2 playing quite direct so will he change it around? When he was involved with other clubs he was inclined to play a lot more from the back."
An ex Cobh player, Charlie Lyons, was also effective in defence alongside Conor O'Keeffe and the influential Brouder for United against Waterford. "Charlie has been knocking on the door for a while," Caulfield says. "He hasn't got many starts this year, he has come on in a number of games late on. He is a wholehearted defender, very strong in the air, very aggressive. We just felt after the flat performance against Longford that we needed a bit more aggression and strength at the back.
"Charlie came in, he had an outstanding match. We all know Francely has come back after a long term injury, he has been involved in lots of games. We have been trying to get his fitness up, we felt the other night that it was a good time to start him. He was exceptionally lively, desperately unlucky with a couple of chances, and it was great that he got 80 minutes on the pitch. It gives us more options, we know how talented a player he is."
**Listen to the full interview with Galway United manager John Caulfield on this week's 'Cian on Sport' podcast available on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
