Utd look for morale-boosting win ahead of play-off

Keith Kelly

Galway United are on the road for what they hope will be the last time this season when they travel to Hunky Dorys Park tonight to take on Drogheda United (kick-off 7.45pm) in what is the only Premier Division fixture this weekend which will have no bearing on the final standings in the league.

This weekend is the last of the regular season, with Drogheda already relegated, and United consigned to a relegation play-off with Bray Wanderers in Terryland Park next Tuesday (kick-off 7.45pm), so there is nothing but pride at stake for both sides tonight.

If United win next Tuesday, which is a one-off game, their place in the Premier Division will be secure, but if they lose they will face a two-leg play-off against a First Division side for the right to play in the top flight next season.

As a result, United boss Sean Connor will have one eye on next Tuesday’s game when he sets about deciding on his team for tonight’s game, but rather than rest players, he is expected to field a strong side in a bid to settle on his best team for that game with Bray.Stephen O’Donnell is expected to return tonight, having missed the past couple of weeks following surgery on his injured knee, while Karl Sheppard and Stephen Walsh both return from suspension and are also likely to go straight into the team.

That will be tough on the players who performed so well in the shock 3-2 win over Bohemians in Terryland Park last Friday night, but with United’s Premier Division status at stake, there is no room for sentimentality, and Connor will go with what he sees as his strongest side.

There is a case to be made for the inclusion of Jason Molloy, who scored twice against Bohs and also won the penalty from which Derek O’Brien put United into an 11th minute lead. The city native has often flattered to deceive in the past three seasons or so at United, but there is merit in the suggestion to allow him the chance to build on his display of last week, particularly in a game which has nothing riding on it.

That would mean splitting the Sheppard-Walsh partnership up front, but if a striker’s currency is goals, then Molloy represents better value than Sheppard, who has struggled badly in front of goals in the past couple of months, finding the net just twice in United’s last 21 league games, a huge drop in return compared to the start of the season when he found the net five times in 11 games.

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