Galway United travel to home of champions needing result in battle to avoid relegation

With the nation’s focus glued to the weekend’s quarter-final action in the Rugby World Cup across the water, it is perhaps a good time to rob a cliché from the egg-chasing world in relation to Galway United’s trip to Oriel Park tonight: Tommy Dunne’s side need to ‘front up’ for what is the most daunting trip in the league schedule.

Dunne takes his side to the home of the newly-crowned champions (7.45pm) needing to get some kind of reward in their fight to retain their place in the top flight next season.

United looked to have take a massive step towards that when somehow taking all three points in the Connacht derby against Sligo Rovers a fortnight ago, but they undid all that good work  with a wretched performance against Limerick last week that culminated in a 3-1 defeat and saw them dragged right back into the relegation picture.

“It made tough viewing when looking back at the video as it was plain that most of the problems last week were of our own doing. We made too many mistakes and made it hard for ourselves, but training has gone well this week and the lads are in good form and looking forward to what will be a tough test,” he said.

Dundalk retained the title with a 1-1 draw away to Shamrock Rovers last weekend, with Richie Towell scoring his 22nd league goal of the season five minutes from time to secure the title-clinching point, as Cork City’s 1-1 draw away to Drogheda United ended their hopes of catching the Lilywhites.

Dundalk will hope to clinch the double when they take on City in the FAI Cup final next month, and with both sides due to meet in the league next weekend, Dunne believes that if Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny is to make wholesale changes to his team for the remainder of the league, it will be next weekend.

“They have clinched the title but they won’t be letting up and I expect to be facing a full-strength Dundalk side. The players up there are now playing for places in the cup final, and they will be determined to win their last three games.

“Stephen might change things up a little, but they are playing Cork in the league next week so if there are wholesale changes to be made, my guess is they will do it in that game.”

Kenny certainly won’t be letting his players relax now that they have achieved club history in becoming the first Dundalk side to retain the title – it was the club’s 11th league title in all – and he confirmed that this week has been like any other for the club.

“We are looking forward to the rest of the season and we haven’t taken any time off, the players have been back in,” said Kenny, who has something close to a 70% win rate with Dundalk since taking over at the Louth club in November 2012.

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