Throughout the years Gortakeegan has been a venue in which the most illustrious clubs in the country have suffered, and the League of Ireland’s latest arrival, Mervue United, make the trek to the venue on the outskirts of Monaghan town forearmed and forewarned.
With a point on the board following last Friday’s stalemate with Finn Harps, Mervue have reason to be confident as Monaghan have surprisingly struggled in the opening weeks. The Harps match confirmed that Mervue can operate at this level, particularly as their minds were focused on the considerable task by manager Johnny Glynn.
Mervue did have to deal with a cruel finish as Conor Gethins nicked a last-gasp equaliser, but these harrowing things ultimately aid the development process. That is what Glynn wants, and the squad know that as the weeks evolve they will become more comfortable.
Glynn has stressed the import of remaining cool particularly at set-piece situations, an area in which Mervue were ruthlessly punished by Limerick. That was rectified for the Harps encounter as only a flash of Gethins’ excellence denied the Galwegians.
Dave Goldbey’s first goal was a reward for the mixture of spirit and skill Mervue showed early on, and Glynn was encouraged. “We played well in the first half, lost our shape a little in the second half. All in all it’s the first point, we’re off the mark and we’re delighted with that. I’d say in the first half we probably had the better of the game, second half they had a little bit of class at the end when Gethins scored.”
“We’re lacking a little bit of experience, but I said to them afterwards, that’s how hard it is to get a point so the work we’ll have to put in to get to that level and to improve. We're happy to get one point anyway and we hope to improve on that.”
Adding footballers familiar with rigours of the domestic game has been one of Glynn’s errands, and the sight of Mixie Harty on the training ground should assist the youngsters during turbulent times. Harty enjoyed many productive outings in the Galway United shirt, and with Nigel Keady, Ollie Keogh, Nicky Curran, Goldbey, and Davie O’Dowd all involved, suddenly there is a core of experience available to Glynn. Such nous is necessary in Gortakeegan, and Mervue would be fulfilled if a defeat was avoided.
