While the Airtricity League season is only a month old, there is no disguising the importance of tomorrow's Deacy Park derby between SD Galway and Mervue United.
It has been a testing start to the campaign for the two local outfits. Both have failed to win a game so far this season ensuring the Dyke Road encounter can be classed as crucial.
Two youthful squads require the injection of confidence a victory can bring , ensuring a degree of anticipation surrounding this fixture.
SD Galway were nudged out of the EA Sports Cup by a strong Shamrock Rovers on Monday, but manager Tony Mannion insists his rebranded club is merely starting out on a long journey.
"The table isn't something we are overly concerned with at the minute,” he says. “We have set out to build a club and make ourselves a viable League of Ireland club that is sustainable. We could win against Mervue and lose every game until the end of the season. We could win against Mervue and not even do the right things. We want to play in the way we want to play.
"Against Rovers there were times when we got the ball down and we clever and we tried to be expressive. That is what we need to do. If you start looking at results, you can lose some of that focus. We need to go out to perform to the best of our ability. If we do that, we will take whatever comes our way."
Mannion is encouraged that goalkeeper Ronan Burke, Timmy Molloy, Colm Horgan, and Tom Bradshaw are all developing as footballers.
"Timmy was only 17 when we played against Finn Harps on Friday and he turned 18 on the way back home on Saturday. Colm is young, the keeper Ronan Burke is too, so is young Bradshaw. They are improving. It is a big step up and there are huge demands nowadays.
"We train three times a week and play at the weekend. That is four sessions combined with weights work. Combine that with how we want to play takes an adjustment. If things aren't going well, a player’s confidence goes. If your confidence goes, you have to be patient. You have to be positive.
“People come to the games and want to be critical. How people can be critical of young players trying to do the right thing is beyond me."
Mervue United finally earned a point when drawing with Waterford United at Fahy's Field last Friday. In a match short on goal-scoring opportunities, Mervue, with a similar age profile to SD Galway, will have taken satisfaction from the manner in which they defended and such solidity needs to be shown in the coming weeks.
Johnny Glynn's sterling work in 2011 guided them to a respectable seventh place finish with a raft of promising performers emerging. Now Mervue will hope that Barry McEntee, Mark Ludden, Kenny Farrell, Shane Keogh, and Pat Hoban can continue to improve.
With Mervue and SD Galway trailing Waterford by six and five points respectively, Glynn and Mannion will be eager to trim that gap. SD Galway have drawn home first division encounters with Wexford Youths and Longford Town, and another stalemate is highly possible against Mervue.
