A place in the quarter-finals of the FAI Cup is the significant bounty for the winners of tomorrow’s Terryland Park clash between Galway United and Longford Town.
"It is a big game, especially after the Drogheda performance,” says assistant manager Tom French. “ We want to get back into winning ways, to get ready for the next league game.”
Galway’s latest addition, Aaron Green, is not eligible to feature in the cup, but French is optimistic the teenager can make an impact in the west. "Aaron has been in a scheme in Dublin, we didn't know much about him. What we have seen so far in training is that he has a good touch, he is quick, he came on in a hard game two nil down. He did well when he came on, and hopefully we will see more of him.”
Longford, with former Galway frontrunner Derek Glynn spearheading the attack, caused a mild surprise, beating Wexford Youths in the previous round, and will bring the usual commitment associated with Gareth Cronin teams to the banks of the Corrib.
Tuesday at Terryland Park proved to be one of those difficult nights when everything went horribly wrong for Galway United. Still the loss was put into perspective by the pre-match minute’s silence which was observed for manager Ian Foster’s father, who died on Monday.
There were plenty of factors which disrupted Galway’s preparations including the confirmation that Jay O’Shea had played his last game with United having signed a two-year deal with Birmingham City.
First-half goals from Conor Kenna and Jamie Duffy ensured Drogheda assumed a commanding position, and they never looked like relinquishing the lead.
John Russell’s absence was sorely missed as Drogheda governed the midfield battle, and eked out a valuable victory.
“If you take the Sligo game we played really well with Russell in there,” said French. “We missed him keeping the ball, and getting hold of it in the midfield. He has been in top form, and he was a big loss because you could see there was a bit of a gap in the middle for us. He is back tomorow night, and that will be a big plus for us.
"It was very disappointing because we played really well against Sligo. This was a big game for us because it gave us a chance to push away from the three at the bottom. We didn't create enough chances, and unfortunately it wasn't good enough on the night.
" We have been working hard in training, and we have played well in the last few matches, but we were way below par which is disappointing. We have Longford tomorrow night and we just have to lift the heads.”
