Dunne wants players to stop ‘switching off’ ahead of away tie with Longford

GALWAY United manager Tommy Dunne believes the team “switching off” at key moments in Premier Division games has been the difference between winning and losing this season.

Heading to City Calling Stadium this evening, Friday (7:45pm), Galway United will face a Longford Town outfit that – in truth – has been fighting harder to pick up Premier Division points than the Westerners, who, remarkably, after 15 games have yet to draw a league match this campaign.

This is not lost on Dunne and he acknowledges that even translating half of his team’s 10 losses into draws would have added an extra five points to their tally. United currently lie in eighth position in the table with 15 points – four points behind sixth placed Longford.

“Yeah, we need to start scrapping [for points],” says the United boss. “There are five games there that we could have got something out of and that would be an extra five points. That would be the difference between being okay and not being okay.”

That said, both of this evening’s rivals have only won five of their 15 Premier Division ties to date this season – albeit, Longford have drawn four – suggesting there is little or nothing between the two. “Yeah, there is not and there wasn’t much between us last year and earlier this season,” continues Dunne.

“Longford have got good experience though. They are a good team, they are well drilled and they have been together for a while too. So, from our point of view, we know it is going to be tough but we have a decent enough record in Longford so we are hoping we can continue with that.”

When the sides clashed at Eamonn Deacy Park back in late March, United had to play 65 minutes of the contest with 10 men after Stephen Walsh received his marching orders. Indeed, it proved to be a tempestuous enough game with Sam Oji and Longford’s Pat Flynn also seeing red.

Oji and Flynn were sent to the line for an altercation following Longford Town’s dramatic injury-time winner. “To be honest, if it had finished 11 v 11 it might have been a closer game,” says Dunne. “But, listen, that is in the past. We have got to look forward now and try to pick up the three points.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.