Galway Utd’s U-14s bid for first Academy title for club

Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty

Galway United head to Athlone tomorrow for the U-14 Elite League final against Shamrock Rovers at 6pm and with it the prospect of a first national Academy title for the club. For the duration of the season this team has continued to impress and indeed have suffered just a single defeat – against Cobh Ramblers – throughout the campaign.

Their two most recent knockout games has seen them dismiss St Patrick’s Athletic 4-0 in the quarter-final and last weekend gained revenge over Cobh Ramblers with a 6-1 hammering of the Cork outfit in the semi-final.

In the other semi-final, Darragh Marshall goal saw Shamrock Rovers defeat Cork City 1-0. The sides have met on one previous occasion when the sides shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Eamonn Deacy Park, in the last game of the Elite stage.

This is their second year together for the majority of the squad, as most played at U-13 level last season and the benefit of that can be seen in their performances.

Manager Xavi Vazquez and his coaches Jason Murphy and Gary Trainor have worked diligently with the squad of 22 players throughout the campaign. All the players have seen game time on a consistent basis throughout the league and when coach Jason Murphy spoke to City Sport this week, he acknowledged the work put in by the players.

“From before the season started, we have trained for three nights a week in Kiltullagh and the commitment from all the players is fantastic. The venue is very suitable as we have players from all parts of the county and it is an easy location to get to.

“Our progress to the final was very smooth. We played well in those wins over St Pat’s and Cobh, but no doubt Shamrock Rovers will be another step up. We have kept the same schedule as usual over recent weeks and are approaching it as a normal game,” he explained.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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