UCD -v- Galway United
Credit:
John ‘Jumbo’ Brennan takes charge of Galway United for the first time as the Tribesmen travel to Belfield for their Premier Division clash with UCD on Monday night. (Kick off, 7.45pm)
Galway ended a run of 22 straight league defeats on Friday night when they held Dundalk to a 2-2 draw at Terryland Park, in what proved to be Sean Connors’ last game in charge of the club. Korean Jin Gu Kim put Galway ahead against the Lilywhites with Alan Murphy getting a late equaliser after the visitors had fought back to lead 2-1.
Connors’ departure was not unexpected but it remains to be seen whether the promotion of Brennan from his duties as manager of Galway’s A Championship side can provide the kind of psychological bounce that the westerners need. Losing has become an ingrained habit for United and with seven games left they have managed just one win all season; a 1-0 win against Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
The optimists will point out that one of Galway’s three league draws came from a 0-0 draw with UCD back in March. And there is further fuel for optimism in the fact that four of the Tribesmen’s six league points have been won on the road. However, since Galway’s draw with UCD the Students have beaten United twice, 3-0 at Belfield and 4-3 at Terryland in early July.
Any real hope Galway fans may have for a positive result will probably come, not from their own record, but from that of UCD. They may stand 16 points clear of their opponents but they have lost five of their last seven league outings.
Apart from an extraordinary 5-4 win over Drogheda ten days ago, and a 2-2 draw with St Pats, UCD have lost to Derry, Sligo, Bray and Dundalk in recent weeks, while suffering two 6-0 hammerings at the hands of Shamrock Rovers; once in the league and once in the FAI Cup.
The Students will be without striker Graham Rusk and defender Ciaran Nangle, who both miss out through injury. Sean Harding, meanwhile, is suspended. Galway will be missing four injured players, including Jin Gu Kim who scored against Dundalk on Friday. They will also give late fitness tests to three more.
A win for UCD on Monday will move them beyond the mathematical reach of Galway with six league games still remaining, a sobering thought that goes someway to illuminating the the depth of Galway’s crisis.
UCD
Injured: Ciaran Nangle, Graham Rusk.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Sean Harding.
Galway United
Injured: Johnny Keane, Victor Collins, Jin Gu Kim, Eric Holland.
Doubtful: Sean Kelly, Laurence Gaughan, Stephen Walsh.
Suspended: None.
Referee: Paul McLoughlin.
Paddy Power Odds: UCD 3/10; Draw 4/1; Galway 8/1.
Extratime prediction: Samir Belhout to make the difference and UCD to win 2-0.
Galway ended a run of 22 straight league defeats on Friday night when they held Dundalk to a 2-2 draw at Terryland Park, in what proved to be Sean Connors’ last game in charge of the club. Korean Jin Gu Kim put Galway ahead against the Lilywhites with Alan Murphy getting a late equaliser after the visitors had fought back to lead 2-1.
Connors’ departure was not unexpected but it remains to be seen whether the promotion of Brennan from his duties as manager of Galway’s A Championship side can provide the kind of psychological bounce that the westerners need. Losing has become an ingrained habit for United and with seven games left they have managed just one win all season; a 1-0 win against Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
The optimists will point out that one of Galway’s three league draws came from a 0-0 draw with UCD back in March. And there is further fuel for optimism in the fact that four of the Tribesmen’s six league points have been won on the road. However, since Galway’s draw with UCD the Students have beaten United twice, 3-0 at Belfield and 4-3 at Terryland in early July.
Any real hope Galway fans may have for a positive result will probably come, not from their own record, but from that of UCD. They may stand 16 points clear of their opponents but they have lost five of their last seven league outings.
Apart from an extraordinary 5-4 win over Drogheda ten days ago, and a 2-2 draw with St Pats, UCD have lost to Derry, Sligo, Bray and Dundalk in recent weeks, while suffering two 6-0 hammerings at the hands of Shamrock Rovers; once in the league and once in the FAI Cup.
The Students will be without striker Graham Rusk and defender Ciaran Nangle, who both miss out through injury. Sean Harding, meanwhile, is suspended. Galway will be missing four injured players, including Jin Gu Kim who scored against Dundalk on Friday. They will also give late fitness tests to three more.
A win for UCD on Monday will move them beyond the mathematical reach of Galway with six league games still remaining, a sobering thought that goes someway to illuminating the the depth of Galway’s crisis.
UCD
Injured: Ciaran Nangle, Graham Rusk.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: Sean Harding.
Galway United
Injured: Johnny Keane, Victor Collins, Jin Gu Kim, Eric Holland.
Doubtful: Sean Kelly, Laurence Gaughan, Stephen Walsh.
Suspended: None.
Referee: Paul McLoughlin.
Paddy Power Odds: UCD 3/10; Draw 4/1; Galway 8/1.
Extratime prediction: Samir Belhout to make the difference and UCD to win 2-0.
About Simon O'Gorman
Simon O'Gorman began reporting for Extratime in 2010. He remembers Milltown and Flower Lodge and, back in the mists of time, saw Diego Maradona play at Lansdowne Road. He now lives in Co Kildare and … View Full Profile