Manning is the man as Galway FC thrash Cobh Ramblers

Galway FC 4

Cobh Ramblers 0

Followers of the beautiful game have been lucky enough to see some of the best footballers this country has ever produced grace the League of Ireland over the years – players like John Giles, Mick Martin, Paul McGrath, Ronnie Whelan and Roy Keane, along with Seamus Coleman, Shane Long and our own David Forde in more recent years.

Given the way his career has gone to date, you can expect to add the name of Ryan Manning to that list in the not too distant future, and the advice is to get to Eamonn Deacy Park sooner rather than later to catch a glimpse of him before he makes the inevitable move to England.

Manning, who only turns 18 in June, was a joy to behold on Friday night and gave further proof, if it was needed, that he is destined for greatness – his vision is second to none; he has a great turn of pace; he looks of slight build but has excellent strength; and his work ethic is second to none.

He ran the show on Friday night, but in fairness to the rest of the players, it certainly wasn’t a one-man performance: Stephen Walsh scored twice and could have added at least a couple more; Jason Molloy opened his account for the season late in the game; while Ryan Connolly had his best outing in the maroon shirt from the heart of midfield.

Speaking after the game, manager Tommy Dunne was naturally delighted with the win, but he certainly wasn’t getting carried away and admitted there was still plenty of work to be done with the league’s newest side.

“We played well in spells, at different times we were a little bit sloppy in our play, but in general we played good stuff and created a lot of chances – we could have scored a few more goals, but overall we’re happy enough.

“In periods we were good, in other periods we were a little bit sloppy, but you don’t want to be too critical or too harsh on the lads – they work their socks off week-in, week-out training and playing. There will be mistakes made, we know that, but I’ll be happy to work with any lad who is prepared to put in the work that we are putting in,” Dunne said.

He admitted the early goal helped settle his side to the task at hand, and was delighted with the threat his side posed, although he admitted there were some more goals in the side on the night.

“We scored early, the boys settled down and tried to play, we had a threat all night which was important. I thought we possibly could have got a few more tonight, I think Stephen Walsh will be in agreement that he should have picked up a hat-trick, but still, there is loads of work to still be done, we’re still settling down,” he said.