Salthill Devon -v- Mervue United

• Terry Flaherty
• Sat, Mar 05 2011


The first Galway city derby game in the First Division forms part of the opening Airtricity League weekend with Salthill Devon playing hosts to neighbours Mervue United at Drom Soccer Park on Saturday night with a 7 p.m. kick-off.

After the revised fixtures list was issued last week, both Johnny Glynn and Emyln Long would surely have preferred not to have to face each other on the opening night but it does offer a chance to start the new campaign on a positive note, if either club can manage to collect all three points on offer.

For two sides who finished in the bottom positions in last season’s league table, this campaign offers a chance to improve on that and the only way is up. A quick look at last season’s league table shows that both side's struggled defensively with Salthill conceding 85 goals and Mervue just two less. A repeat of those leakages will surely ensure yet another season of struggle for both western based sides.

Mervue parted company with manager Tom French in the close season and the man who brought them into League of Ireland football in 2009, Johnny Glynn, has returned to the touchline to guide the club. Glynn has been busy in pre-season securing the services of all of last season’s squad, except for the departed Enda Curran (Galway Utd), while also re-signing the influential Damien O’Rourke and David O’Brien. He has also added former Galway Utd players, Jason Molloy and Tom King, while also recruiting Mayo youngsters Peter Dravins and John Mountney and Tuam native Darren Kelly from local side Dynamo Blues.

Salthill on the other hand have had a quite pre-season with no major signings bar former Galway Utd and Sligo Rovers player, Wes Charles, and he could make his debut for the seasiders in Saturday night's game. They have lost the exciting Daryl Horgan to Premier Division Sligo Rovers. Long will look to the majority of last season’s squad along with the club’s underage system to produce an improvement on last season’s bottom of the table finish.

Glynn, who starts the season serving a four match touchline ban carried forward from 2009, will have to plan without O’Rourke (leg) and Mark Ludden (groin), while Ger Hanley and John Mountney are also struggling to be fit for the opening night. Salthill could be without goalkeeper Ronan Forde who is struggling with a back injury, so youngster Bernard Power could make his LOI debut.

Last season’s three encounters between the sides saw some very tight derby affairs with honours even, as both won one each, while the other game resulted in a 2-2 draw after Salthill secured a 94th minute equaliser in Terryland Park back in April.

ExtraTime.ie Prediction - This has all the hallmarks of a drawn game and no bragging rights. 1-1.