Galway FC geared up for table toppers

GALWAY FC face a first real test of both their character and credentials when First Division leaders Shelbourne come to Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night (7.45pm) with the home side looking to build on last week’s thrashing of Cobh Ramblers.

In fact, given that it is Masters weekend in Augusta, it could be said that Galway FC are facing in to their own Amen Corner as they face Shels, surprise packets Wexford Youths and big-spending Longford Town in their next three games.

“It will be a very different game to last week’s – Shelbourne will come and try to attack us, and I think we’ll learn more about ourselves than we did against Cobh,” Galway FC manager Tommy Dunne said this week.

“It will be a really big test, we are playing against one of the favourites for the title, but we will go out with the intention of winning the game and taking all three points,” he said.

To do so, you’d imagine that the home side will have to do what no other team has managed in five previous games, and that is keep a clean sheet against a Tolka Park side that has threats all over the park – eight different players have accounted for their nine league goals.

That said, the home side boast one of the best defences in the league – only Longford have conceded fewer goals (1 as opposed to 2 by Galway), and they have played a game less. That is quite an achievement for such a young side – the back four that started against Cobh has an average age of just 22 (Colm Horgan is 19, Martin Conneely 23, Cian Fadden 22 and Marc Ludden is 24).

However, all the talk on Friday night was the display of Ryan Manning, the 17-year-old Leaving Cert student who has attracted the attention of the likes of Everton – he caused Cobh plenty of problems out wide, and absolutely cut them apart when playing through the middle in the second half.

Full preview in this week’s Connacht Tribune