League Preview: Shamrock Rovers II -v- Galway United
Shamrock Rovers ll
Shamrock Rovers II play their first home game of the season tomorrow afternoon when they welcome Galway United to Tallaght Stadium (kick-off 3pm).
The home side were 2-0 losers to Longford Town in their season opener against Longford Town last weekend, but by all accounts acquitted themselves well against one of the favourites to challenge for promotion in 2020.
It will be another stiff challenge for Rovers young charges on Saturday, Galway have strengthened significantly during the off-season and could be too strong for the Dublin side.
Galway United
The Tribesmen finally get their First Division campaign underway tomorrow afternoon after the postponement of their opening game against Athlone due to a waterlogged pitch last Friday night.
Alan Murphy’s side have had an extra week to prepare but with their pre-season also affected by inclement weather their preparations might have been negatively impacted.
Galway have added a kit if quality and experience to their squad for this season but with such a large squad available for Rovers II there’s the added challenge of not knowing what make of a team they will be facing.
“We've forgotten about last week and moved on,” Alan Murphy said, speaking to the club’s media team.
“We had a tough week of training and we're raring to go now. We're really looking forward to starting the season on Saturday and hopefully performing well.
"The calibre of player that Shamrock Rovers have in their ranks is high, they have eight players that are signed to both squads, so it'll be difficult and we'll have to wait for the day to see who will line up against us.
"Everyone is excited to get the season underway now, it's been a long off-season. Last week's game being called off was disappointing, but we moved on and took it as an opportunity to put in some hard work in preparation for this game."
Vinny Faherty is injured for tomorrow’s game while Sam Warde is absent due to an illness. Marc Ludden is unavailable for selection with the recently married full-back away on his honeymoon.
Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan
MATCH STATS
The last time a Rovers second team was in the league United went unbeaten against them, winning twice and drawing twice.
With last week’s postponement of the Tribesmen’s game against Athlone Town, it has now been over 5 months since they last played a league game.
BETTING
Shamrock Rovers ll 9/2; Draw 11/4; Galway United 8/15.
PREDICTION
Shamrock Rovers ll 0–3 Galway United
Shamrock Rovers ll
Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Galway United
Injured: Vinny Faherty and Sam Warde.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.