Galway XI -v- Port Vale

Galway will limber up for next weeks seven day long racing festivities with a friendly soccer match at Eamonn Deacy Park on Saturday night.

A Galway XI selection will host English League Two side, Port Vale, as they make their annual pre-Galway Races trip to the City of the Tribes for a friendly game at Eamonn Deacy Park on Saturday evening at 7.30 p.m. The game is being organised by Galway Utd Supporters Trust FC (GUST) in association with the local Galway District League, whose junior players will make up the Galway squad.

As usual with any Galway side it is sprinkled with players that have previously plied their trade with the three local League of Ireland club’s Galway Utd, Mervue Utd and Salthill Devon, while also including some of the best local talent from across a number of Galway junior clubs.

In the Galway squad announced on Monday for the game both goalkeepers, John Egan and Daire Geraghty, played for Galway Utd before they departed the national league, while former Utd captain Paul Sinnott, Eric Holland, Keith Lee and Emmett Shaw all saw action in the maroon jersey over the last number of seasons, all four also played underage for Mervue Utd .  Sinnott captained Mervue’s Under 16 side to national glory in the SFAI Barry Cup back in 2003.

There are six Mervue Utd players named in the squad with four of last season’s Junior A Premier Division winning side name as Vinny O'Connor, Keith McHugh, Stephen Cunningham and Coley Kelly all feature. Dan Cunningham, who only recently departed Premier Division side, Dundalk, is also named in the squad. Dan, along with Stephen, is a brother of Irish International, Greg, and had previously played for three seasons with Mervue in the First Division before signing for Dundalk this season.

Youngster Conor Murray provides the only Salthill Devon presence in the squad, while local junior sides, East Utd, Galway Hibernians and Corrib Rangers, all supply three players each to the squad.

Former Mervue and Galway player Dave Goldbey, now playing with local junior side Corrib Rangers, also adds that extra bit of LOI experience to the squad which will be managed by former Galway Rovers/Utd and Celtic goalkeeper Tommy Lally and Galway Hibernians Derek O’Loughlin.