Important matches are occurring every week for Galway FC, who make the long trek to Ballybofey tomorrow for another vital SSE Airtricity League first division encounter with Finn Harps.
Encouraged by last Friday's clinical and comprehensive five-goal success over Shamrock Rovers B, manager Tommy Dunne hopes Galway can build on that satisfying Eamonn Deacy Park triumph.
“We go to Finn Harps next, which is another huge game,” he says. “We’ve got to try to get our points tally in the third phase of games, but we’re playing catch up. We picked up two extra points from the Rovers match compared to the last phase, but we we’re still trying to make up ground.
“We know Finn Park is a difficult place to go but we’re on the chase.”
Despite trailing Longford Town and Shelbourne in the table, Dunne is adamant the Tribesmen are still heavily involved in the race for the first division title.
“We’re hungry to get up the table and we’re not ruling out anything. We’ve got to play Shelbourne twice, Longford once, but let's look at the next game coming first. I still think we need to tighten things up. If we do, I think we can give anyone a match.”
A smashing third-minute Vinny Faherty goal put Galway on the road to a convincing victory over the Hoops which pleased Dunne.
“I thought we had a little bit more urgency about us early on and we scored early and I thought we did quite well over the course of the 90 minutes.”
Dunne tweaked his starting XI for the Rovers clash and was happy with the impact custodian Ger Hanley made between the sticks and how the versatile Stephen Walsh, who has impressed this year as an attacker, did in central defence.
“We gave up too many chances in the first half, but there was a few differences in personnel. Overall we’re delighted to pick up the three points and to score five goals, because I think the goal difference could be important at the end of the season.”
Dunne says Stephen Walsh’s inclusion at centre-half was enforced because of Martin Conneely’s Achilles tendon injury.
“We had to try to give him a break. He didn’t train all week and we’re trying to get Martin in a situation where his Achilles problem settles down so he can possibly be okay for Harps.”
Another positive for Dunne was Enda Curran marking his debut with a sweet headed goal during a burst of Galwegian dominance.
“Enda came in, he got 20-25 minutes, and if he gets a good week’s training under his belt he’ll be in contention for Harps,” Dunne revealed. “ I think Jake Keegan and Vinny did well also, Stephen Walsh plays there and Ryan Manning is due to come back soon. We’ve got an abundance of strikers, we’re possibly a bit short at the back, so we might look to see if we can bring one or two in – in that area.”
• Galway United Supporters Trust is running a bus to tomorrow’s SSE Airtricity League first division match between Galway FC and Finn Harps in Ballybofey. The bus will depart The Dail Bar, Middle Street, Galway, at 3.30pm, and can pick up along the route. To book contact Ronan Coleman 087-6972823.
