Heartless united in disastrous loss

Date Published: 24-Jul-2007

GALWAY United they certainly are not. Another display lacking any passion or heart, another failure in front of their home fans, some of whom took advantage of the opened exit doors to leave before the end — this can’t continue for much longer.

The next time United play in Terryland will be for the friendly with Sunderland tomorrow week. That game marks the opening of the new stand, but unless there is a dramatic improvement in both attitude and performance in the league, then that meaningless friendly will be the only time in the foreseeable future that the new structure will be full.

Hard and all as a defeat can be to stomach, most supporters can accept a loss if it is accompanied by a bit of heart, a real effort by their side. By that barometer, Friday night’s loss has to be filed under the unacceptable category.

Where once there was the likes of John Mannion, Derek Rogers, Eamon Deacy, Ricky Flaherty and the late Miko Nolan, players who gave their all and spent as much time exhorting and extolling team mates as they did actually playing, the players who fill those boots today appear to lack any kind of leader on the pitch.

Once Bray took the lead, it was as if whatever shred of self-belief was in the United players just evaporated. That was a time when leaders
needed to stand up and make their voices heard, but the only din was from the reliably vocal band of fans in the corner of the old stand who continue to stand by their side on this horrible run of home form.

As if that wasn’t bad enough,………..