League Preview: Galway FC -v- Cobh Ramblers

GALWAY FC

Having finally managed to find the back of the net with their recent 1-1 draw against the go-getting Finn Harps in the league, Galway FC can begin to relax somewhat. Although it's vital that they don't become complacent or start to slack off.

Now that they have their first goal on the board, manager Tommy Dunne will be keen to ensure his side continue to improve; building on their achievements will be first on the agenda.

And, with the men from Connacht welcoming Cobh Ramblers to Eamonn Deacy Park for the first time this season, they have their best opportunity yet of claiming their first league scalp in their history.

With home support behind them, the Galway club are sure to be slight favourites to bag all three points – they just need to make sure they remember where the net is.

Make no mistake, manager Dunne knows his side are more than capable of beating Ramblers on Friday evening as he continues to maintain they're better than they've shown so far.

Speaking ahead of their fifth league encounter of the year, the Cork underlined how wary he was of the opposition: “With Cobh you're not sure what team will turn up on the day,some weeks they seem to have a lot of players available, other weeks they seem to be quite tight on bodies, but we have to be ready for a strong performance.”

He also added just how close they were to winning against Harps: “Against Finn Harps I was a little disappointed that we didn't come away with a win. Harps had one or two chances but we were playing with ten men for most of the game which didn't allow us to ask a few more questions of them. I think we might have done so if we had the full compliment. Overall it was a positive result, we battled well with everybody working their socks off to get a result.”

COBH RAMBLERS    

With just a single point on the board as of yet, Cobh Ramblers have had a rather woeful campaign thus far.

Having shipped nine goals in total, the club from Cork clearly have some defensive problems to sort out. Of course, five of those arrived in their heavy 5-0 away loss to league leaders Finn Harps last month, so it's still difficult to tell just how bad they've been.

They were made to look more than a little ordinary by them, but Harps are the form team, so Friday night's match should reveal a little more about them.

Add to this the fact that the Rams have played one less match than the hosts and their position at the bottom of the league gathers a little more reason.

No doubt, the fact they haven't played since two weeks ago will be something both managers will have on the back of their minds; match sharpness might just be the deciding factor.

Manager Martin Cambridge hasn't been without a few positive signs over the course of their initial three games – for starters they've found the net more than Galway.

However, they will be aiming to give any travelling supporters something a little more substantive to cheer about – a draw would be a huge result for them.

Referee: Ray Matthews

MATCH STATS

Both Galway and Cobh are two of four First Division sides who have yet to record a league win in 2014. Waterford United and Shamrock Rovers B are the others.

In Galway's draw with Finn Harps in Donegal, Vinny Faherty became the first players in the club's short history to score a league goal.

Back in Terryland Park in 2008, Galway United fell to a 1-0 defeat at hands of the Rams on a score-line of 1-0. Vinny Faherty featured that day as a substitute but failed to score.

BETTING

Galway 4/9; Draw 11/4; Cobh Ramblers 6/1.

PREDICTION

The home side will feel confident of snatching victory, but the visitors will be keen to cause an upset, and Galway should be wary of a spirited performance from the away side. All in all, if Galway play to their potential they will in this match. Considering they haven't peaked just yet, this might be their turning point.

A 2-0 win for Galway.

Galway FC

Injured: Alan Murphy (ankle) and Ross Kenny (hip).

Doubtful: None

Suspensions: Derek O' Brien

Cobh Ramblers

Injured: None

Doubtful: None

Suspensions: None