Galway United vs Bohemians

Lying three points away from safety and desperate for a win, Galway United will cross swords with the league leaders Bohemians on Friday night. It is an ominous task for the home side as the Gypsies away form has been imperious so far, undefeated for the concession of only three goals.

How will Galway United, brittle at the back and inconsistent going forward, manage to topple the odds that are stacked so highly against them? That is the conundrum that faces Jeff Kenna as he battles to save a club that, like others, is creaking under financial strain and desperately needs support, both on the terraces and on the balance sheet. No public pleas for support a la Cork City have been made so far but they could be imminent.

Galway's poor draw on the fixture front at the beginning of the year surfaces its head once more. Daunting trips to St Coleman's Park and Inchicore await before a run of games against Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda and Cork comes around again. The next six games will require a bounty of at least seven points to keep in touch. Save the trip to Cobh, it's hard to see where they are going to come from.

Kenna was disgusted by the concession of a soft, early goal to Athlone last week and knows that despite the flurry of goals that followed, this is the area that could condemn his side. Athlone are far from the standard of teams they are about to face, especially tomorrow night. Galway will have to raise their game dramatically and hope Bohs have an off night if they are to move off 14 points.

The 2-2 draw with St Pats earlier in the season was a sign that Galway could compete and a similar effort is needed. Unfortunately, the best Galway player on that night, Gary Deegan, is now wearing red and black shirt and to pour salt in the wound his likely partner in the middle of the pitch will be Galway native Stephen O'Donnell.

There are glimmers of hope for the home side in the form of Jay O'Shea, John Russell and Jesper Jorgensen. O'Shea's quick feet have mesmerised defenders in recent weeks and he has also shown a keen eye for goal. Like a certain Portuguese winger, whether he can do it against the top class opposition remains to be seen. Russell looked comfortable in an advanced role against UCD, and may yet be given that role again tomorrow night, alongside Jorgensen who has shown good control and link-up play but is suffering from comparisons with the strike rate of the out-of-favour Derek Glynn.

Glynn's strengths lie in one-on-ones with defenders and chasing a through ball. But Kenna has shown obvious frustration on the pitch at his inability to hold up play and bring others into the game as well as his work rate. Jason Molloy has surprisingly been elevated into a strike role alongside the Dane, with Glynn only getting a bit part role since his below par display in Ballybofey. Molloy is not without talent and Kenna has been impressed on the training pitch, but proven skills are required in this hour of need and this is what Glynn provides.

Whether Glynn can get back into his manager's good books remains to be seen, but goals haven't really been the problem at home for Galway. They have scored as many as The Hoops in seventh place. But, amazingly, they have conceded eight more goals at home, 22, than they have on the road. Three points from 11 home games is not good enough from a full-time outfit. It is the form of a soon-to-be-relegated team which Kenna must do his utmost to address, but tomorrow nights fixture does not appear to be the place for it to be rectified.