Estar
20/06/2003, 10:31 AM
United seek to protect unbeaten sequence
Having completed the first series of the season with a victory in Kilkenny on Saturday, Galway United host Kildare County next Tuesday in another encounter of a paramount importance in
determining the promotion prospects of both teams.
The teams’ bizarre clash on the opening day of this season saw the Thoroughbreds record a 5-3 success after a baffling game
that mixed sublime attacking moments with some haphazard defending. However Kildare’s greater appetite on that particular
occasion proved sufficient.
Deprived of influential skipper Mark Herrick, much of United’s midfield hopes will rest on the shoulders of the inimitable
Colin Fortune and the beguiling skills of Tony Folan, who may now assume a central berth on a more regular basis. With the likes
of Kevin Walsh and Alan Quinlan also pushing for inclusion, the Westerners have sufficient options to cope with the unfortunate
loss of Herrick.
With Irish underage striker Mark Ronaldson in awesome goalscoring form for the club’s u-21 side, the Shrule striker is
primed to feature in the first team over the coming weeks. Indeed Mannion’s men are unbeaten in the league since the Station Road debacle, and the United supremo will be keen that his charges can extend this sequence to an impressive 11 games.
However United’s recent penchant for drawing winnable games has been an unfortunate feature of the campaign thus far.
A win against Dermot Keely’s side would erase some of the catastrophic reversals that have happened on the Dyke Road this season. Five Terryland Park encounters have seen United assume advantages only to be pegged back for draws.
Always eager to take maximum advantage of hosting a game, Mannion enters next week’s clash protecting a proud unbeaten
record in the western capital that dates as far back as last September.
While the Thoroughbreds will travel to Terryland with serious premier division aspirations, a home victory would leave Mannion’s side very much in contention at the business end of
the Eircom League table.
Having completed the first series of the season with a victory in Kilkenny on Saturday, Galway United host Kildare County next Tuesday in another encounter of a paramount importance in
determining the promotion prospects of both teams.
The teams’ bizarre clash on the opening day of this season saw the Thoroughbreds record a 5-3 success after a baffling game
that mixed sublime attacking moments with some haphazard defending. However Kildare’s greater appetite on that particular
occasion proved sufficient.
Deprived of influential skipper Mark Herrick, much of United’s midfield hopes will rest on the shoulders of the inimitable
Colin Fortune and the beguiling skills of Tony Folan, who may now assume a central berth on a more regular basis. With the likes
of Kevin Walsh and Alan Quinlan also pushing for inclusion, the Westerners have sufficient options to cope with the unfortunate
loss of Herrick.
With Irish underage striker Mark Ronaldson in awesome goalscoring form for the club’s u-21 side, the Shrule striker is
primed to feature in the first team over the coming weeks. Indeed Mannion’s men are unbeaten in the league since the Station Road debacle, and the United supremo will be keen that his charges can extend this sequence to an impressive 11 games.
However United’s recent penchant for drawing winnable games has been an unfortunate feature of the campaign thus far.
A win against Dermot Keely’s side would erase some of the catastrophic reversals that have happened on the Dyke Road this season. Five Terryland Park encounters have seen United assume advantages only to be pegged back for draws.
Always eager to take maximum advantage of hosting a game, Mannion enters next week’s clash protecting a proud unbeaten
record in the western capital that dates as far back as last September.
While the Thoroughbreds will travel to Terryland with serious premier division aspirations, a home victory would leave Mannion’s side very much in contention at the business end of
the Eircom League table.