United lead the way - can it continue?
Credit:
A BUBBLE waiting to burst or the makings of a competition contender – it is nigh on impossible to slot Galway United into any kind of category at present.
The side galloped to its second season win tonight, recording a 1-0 result under the glowing home lights of Terryland Park, and remain on top of the division, the opposite end to where many pundits predicted they would be.
Even their most ardent supporters would concede this cannot continue unabated though, and it would also seem a firm lid is being kept on things behind the dressing room door, as last night’s goal-scorer Garry Breen reeled off the traditional “three points are all that matters” and “we’ll take it one game at a time” mantras post-match.
And manager Ian Foster himself appears to be almost waiting for the steep uphill learning curve that likely awaits his young squad as the season unfolds.
“The average age of our squad believe it or not is 21, there won’t be many younger than that and with that you get inconsistency from young players,” Foster said.
“But we’re all learning. I’ll be the youngest manager, probably with the youngest squad in the division and we’ll get things wrong at times and hopefully we’ll learn from them.”
Mistake number one could be considered the opening 20 minutes of last night’s clash where they allowed their Dundalk visitors far too much room to move and were slightly sluggish out of the blocks. But if they continue to rectify situations as quickly as they did on this occasion, it blossoms with promise; a half-time dressing down by Foster and his management crew sparking them to life.
“I just had a go at them about the intensity wasn’t enough, we didn’t play in the right areas of the pitch, we didn’t play high enough, we didn’t squeeze high enough, basically the things that got us success down at Richmond Park, we didn’t do it,” he said.
“We said it to them at half time and fair play to them from the first whistle they did it.”
Granted they were gifted with send-off of Dundalk winger Simon Kelly in the 73rd minute, Breen’s goal following nine minutes later.
But it was an enterprising half of football and the damage could have been a whole lot worse at the death with a number of other opportunities going begging.
“When we press and when we play on the front foot and when we get in people’s faces we’re as good as a lot of teams in this divisions and when we don’t do it, like we did in the first half then we look sloppy,” Foster said.
“We’re creating things so I’ll take that, but we had, Vinny had a chance when he hit the bar, Derek O’Brien should have scored, Alan Murphy should have scored, Michael McGrath had a chance, so we are getting in there and we are creating.”
Next week sees a trip to Bray, who are yet to either score or concede a goal this season. United had their best record against the Seagulls last season, but Foster said it represents another big challenge.
“We’ll go down there full of confidence, knowing that it’s a tough game,” he said. "Before the season I imagine Bray looked at us and thought that would be three points to pick up against a team that will be fighting against relegation.
“We’ve got to go there and get what we can and hopefully that will be three points, but it won’t be easy.”
The possible inclusion of Jonathan Keane will bolster the squad, although vice-captain John Russell remains a few weeks away from a top flight return.
The side galloped to its second season win tonight, recording a 1-0 result under the glowing home lights of Terryland Park, and remain on top of the division, the opposite end to where many pundits predicted they would be.
Even their most ardent supporters would concede this cannot continue unabated though, and it would also seem a firm lid is being kept on things behind the dressing room door, as last night’s goal-scorer Garry Breen reeled off the traditional “three points are all that matters” and “we’ll take it one game at a time” mantras post-match.
And manager Ian Foster himself appears to be almost waiting for the steep uphill learning curve that likely awaits his young squad as the season unfolds.
“The average age of our squad believe it or not is 21, there won’t be many younger than that and with that you get inconsistency from young players,” Foster said.
“But we’re all learning. I’ll be the youngest manager, probably with the youngest squad in the division and we’ll get things wrong at times and hopefully we’ll learn from them.”
Mistake number one could be considered the opening 20 minutes of last night’s clash where they allowed their Dundalk visitors far too much room to move and were slightly sluggish out of the blocks. But if they continue to rectify situations as quickly as they did on this occasion, it blossoms with promise; a half-time dressing down by Foster and his management crew sparking them to life.
“I just had a go at them about the intensity wasn’t enough, we didn’t play in the right areas of the pitch, we didn’t play high enough, we didn’t squeeze high enough, basically the things that got us success down at Richmond Park, we didn’t do it,” he said.
“We said it to them at half time and fair play to them from the first whistle they did it.”
Granted they were gifted with send-off of Dundalk winger Simon Kelly in the 73rd minute, Breen’s goal following nine minutes later.
But it was an enterprising half of football and the damage could have been a whole lot worse at the death with a number of other opportunities going begging.
“When we press and when we play on the front foot and when we get in people’s faces we’re as good as a lot of teams in this divisions and when we don’t do it, like we did in the first half then we look sloppy,” Foster said.
“We’re creating things so I’ll take that, but we had, Vinny had a chance when he hit the bar, Derek O’Brien should have scored, Alan Murphy should have scored, Michael McGrath had a chance, so we are getting in there and we are creating.”
Next week sees a trip to Bray, who are yet to either score or concede a goal this season. United had their best record against the Seagulls last season, but Foster said it represents another big challenge.
“We’ll go down there full of confidence, knowing that it’s a tough game,” he said. "Before the season I imagine Bray looked at us and thought that would be three points to pick up against a team that will be fighting against relegation.
“We’ve got to go there and get what we can and hopefully that will be three points, but it won’t be easy.”
The possible inclusion of Jonathan Keane will bolster the squad, although vice-captain John Russell remains a few weeks away from a top flight return.
