Nightmare season ends in predictable fashion as toothless United relegated

Date Published: {J}

Galway United 1

Monaghan United 3

The expected conclusion to a woeful season – Galway United’s five year stint in the Premier Division ended on Friday night when they were out-classed and outfought by a Monaghan United side that has completed its own decade-long exile in the First Division.

The night summed up the season as a whole for United – an absolute shambles on the pitch, but a commendable success off it, something which deserves more respect that a mere footnote in a season of shame that saw the team lose 36 of the 40 competitive games it played.

It is hard the imagine the supporter-run management committee knew exactly how bad things would get when they took over the club in January. They had to deal with the refusal of a participation licence, a drop in sponsorship and revenue, the antics of one former player over a shortfall of €50 in wages, a manager who lost his way and his team as the season went on – and all of that without considering the results on the pitch.

Friday’s defeat means that for the first time in its history, the club failed to win a single game at home. It became the first team in the 89-year history of the league to concede more than 100 goals. It set a new league record of 22 consecutive defeats, including a record defeat at home, an 8-0 humbling by Sligo Rovers.

And still the same dedicated band of fans lived up to its promise of fulfilling the fixture list of putting a team out ever week – often by digging into their own pockets. And we’re not talking about business people flush with cash – the MC included an illustrator and a mechanical engineer, a student and an office worker, a man who is unemployed, and another who is retired.

And they come from across the city and county, from Tudor Lawn and Turloughmore, from Claregalway and Claddagh, from Ballyloughane and Ballinfoile, from Newcastle and Newbridge. From Athenry and even from Athlone. Galway united in the truest sense.

That is something the FAI – and others closer to home – should consider if and when the axe edges closer to the neck of Galway United. More than 1,500 people turned up in Terryland Park on Friday night to support Galway United. That is dedication. That is passion. That is commitment. That is evidence that Galway United has a future, whatever the future holds.

As for the game itself, you knew that the first 10 minutes would tell a lot about United’s chances of survival. It did. They hadn’t a hope.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.