Former Toffee makes mark for Tribesmen
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Karl Sheppard, formerly of Everton and Shelbourne, marked his Airtricity League home debut with a dazzling display that could well have seen the 19-year-old grab a hat-trick and leave with the match ball. Instead, the former Irish underage star had to settle for netting Galway United's first goal and creating the second in their 2-1 defeat of Bray Wanderers.
Faced by a pair of rookie centre halves, Sheppard was a constant menace in the opening half hour for Sean Connor's side, rattling a post only moments after snatching his first goal for his new employers. Gary Curran's deflected effort may have been goal bound but Sheppard, with a healthy level of awareness and greediness that all good strikers possess, made sure from close range.
The Dubliner also showed a level of speed off the mark that will trouble many defences in this League, while in general play he was assured in possession and crossed accurately for Derek O'Brien's 27th minute goal after flummoxing Shane O'Connor on the right touchline.
The level of panic in the Bray defence was eased by Philip Knight's introduction before half-time, but Sheppard was always the most likely to add to Galway's tally and had a number of valid claims for penalties turned away.
"Signing Karl was a big thing for us," Connor admitted afterwards. "He’s a tremendous player, very easy to work with, works hard in training, a quiet lad off the park. You can see he’s a handful on the park and with that pace he’s going to cause any team problems."
At the other end, Connor had another hero in goalkeeper Barry Ryan and was quick to acknowledge the Clare native's importance after a string of excellent saves had kept The Seagulls at bay.
"Barry’s made some great saves and that’s why it was so very important to sign him, but I think as a team we can’t rely on that every week. We have to be more solid and take more responsibility further out the park to stop those situations developing."
Faced by a pair of rookie centre halves, Sheppard was a constant menace in the opening half hour for Sean Connor's side, rattling a post only moments after snatching his first goal for his new employers. Gary Curran's deflected effort may have been goal bound but Sheppard, with a healthy level of awareness and greediness that all good strikers possess, made sure from close range.
The Dubliner also showed a level of speed off the mark that will trouble many defences in this League, while in general play he was assured in possession and crossed accurately for Derek O'Brien's 27th minute goal after flummoxing Shane O'Connor on the right touchline.
The level of panic in the Bray defence was eased by Philip Knight's introduction before half-time, but Sheppard was always the most likely to add to Galway's tally and had a number of valid claims for penalties turned away.
"Signing Karl was a big thing for us," Connor admitted afterwards. "He’s a tremendous player, very easy to work with, works hard in training, a quiet lad off the park. You can see he’s a handful on the park and with that pace he’s going to cause any team problems."
At the other end, Connor had another hero in goalkeeper Barry Ryan and was quick to acknowledge the Clare native's importance after a string of excellent saves had kept The Seagulls at bay.
"Barry’s made some great saves and that’s why it was so very important to sign him, but I think as a team we can’t rely on that every week. We have to be more solid and take more responsibility further out the park to stop those situations developing."
About Alan Dooley
is one of Extratime's longest serving contributors. Based in County Galway, Alan has been following the League of Ireland since the mid-1980s. His first memory of the drama of domestic football was Vinny Arkins, then … View Full Profile