Keegan hits the target in vital United away win

Galway United 1

THE League of Ireland has entered its mid-season break, and the half-time report for Galway United is a positive one, thanks in no small part to a gutsy win against Longford Town last Friday night.

Tommy Dunne’s side have played 20 competitive games between the league and the two cup competitions, and they have a 50% winning return – six wins from 16 games in the league, and four wins from four in the two cup competitions, an impressive stat for a team which, it must be remembered, finished third in the First Division last season.

United are in the semi-finals of the EA Sports Cup, have made the last 16 of the FAI Cup and, with last Friday’s win, have moved up to seventh in the league, just a point below their hosts at the weekend – anyone with a realistic outlook will recognise that as an impressive achievement by a young, small and largely local squad.

It was important that United didn’t lose on Friday night, and Jake Keegan’s fourth goal of the season just past the hour mark ensured that United maintained their decent record at the Strokestown Road venue – the win was their eighth in 16 visits to the ground.

The Premier Division has split into two mini-leagues, with the top five of Dundalk, Cork City, Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohemians streets ahead of the other seven clubs. Longford top that second clutch of clubs, and a win for them on Friday night would have seen United slip seven points behind the Midlands side.

However, Keegan’s header means United have closed to within a point of Longford and, more importantly, have put some more daylight between themselves and the bottom two and the players will have headed off on their holidays this week quietly satisfied with their first half of the season.

Dunne made two changes to the side beaten by Cork City the previous week, with Alex Byrne coming in for Enda Curran; while Connor Gleeson paid for a disappointing display between the sticks that night by being dropped from the match-day squad altogether, with Conor Winn handed the goalkeeper’s jersey.

Full report in this week's Connacht Tribune.