Monday evening's FAI Cup second round draw pitted SD Galway against Mervue United, but the two local teams will be hoping to deliver results in the league between now and that clash on May 25.
Mervue United's convincing Fahy's Field win over Finn Harps saw them climb above SD Galway, who are now rooted to the bottom of the table.
That was the first victory of 2012 from either Galway side, which have both encountered plenty of difficulty since the start of March. The only encouragement SD Galway can take from the statistics is that they have drawn three of their four home clashes so far.
Tony Mannion's youngsters will be striving to avoid defeat again when Waterford United visit Eamon Deacy Park tomorrow. Last weekend's loss at Wexford Youths was another hugely disappointing defeat on the road for SD Galway, who have lost all five matches away from the west.
In those fixtures SD Galway have only registered a single goal, while conceding 11, but their record is better on the banks of the Corrib.
Waterford sit comfortably in fourth place following a second surprise success of the campaign over title favourites Limerick FC. Those triumphs confirm the suspicion that Waterford are a capable footballing side when the mood strikes, but they have been plagued by inconsistency. Republic of Ireland schools international Sean Maguire is a highly promising attacker and netted the only goal when Waterford stunned Limerick at Jackman Park. Packie Holden, John Frost, and Gary Dempsey are experienced Airtricity League campaigners, so they will be intent on earning another win in the west.
Three draws from nine does not exactly fill the SD Galway squad with confidence, but Mannion will be eager for Tom Bradshaw, Ronan Conlon, Luke McConnell, Enda Curran, and Brian Gaffney to make an impact during the coming weeks and months.
Mervue’s smart performance
Having outwitted Finn Harps by 3 - 0, Mervue United know a similarly industrious display will be required at Jackman Park when colliding with Limerick. Pat Scully's charges trail Longford Town by four points, so Limerick will be primed for tomorrow's encounter with Mervue, who were in control against Harps following Alan Murphy's opener on the stroke of half time.
Murphy's goal settled Mervue before Jason Molloy and Barry McEntee sealed the deal in the closing stages with two further strikes.
It was a smart performance and Mervue are benefiting from the return of players who missed some of the early weeks in the season due to injury. Last week Etanda Nkololo, Martin Conneely, Noel Varley, and Stephen Walsh were all unused substitutes, so there is a bit of depth to Mervue's squad once more.
Mervue's resourcefulness will certainly be examined in the south west because Limerick are under pressure to respond to the Waterford reversal. Glynn will know that Mervue must be solid from the outset so Ronan Forde, Mike Elwood, and Damien O'Rourke will occupy key roles. Elsewhere Mark Ludden, Alex Lee, Gary Kelly, Shane Keogh, Molloy, Murphy, and Pat Hoban will be attempting to replicate the drive and desire that was evident when Harps were toppled.
