League Preview: Longford Town -v- Galway FC

LONGFORD TOWN

Saturday evening sees Longford Town welcome Galway FC to the City Calling Stadium with the First Division kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm.

Last week saw the hosts fend off Finn Harps on a slender score-line of 1-0 thanks to a converted penalty from David O' Sullivan – the third time this season they've taken home the spoils by that final score.

Interestingly, it also marked the third time this season that O' Sullivan – last season's club top scorer - had found the back of the net in the league; someone their opponents are sure to keep a close eye on come Saturday night.

The Town will be keen to maintain some form of pressure on current league leaders Shelbourne as well as looking to steal a march on Wexford Youths who slipped up last weekend.

And with home support behind them, Tony Dunne will feel quietly confident of getting the win over his cousin, despite some of the Connacht side's players coming into their own in front of goal in recent times.

With Longford momentarily in second place, with a game in hand, this could be the springboard they need to break away from the chasing pack. 

GALWAY FC

When World Cup winner and former Inter Milan star Marco Materazzi becomes a fan, you know you're starting to do something right.

And after he sent the club a goodwill message earlier this week, it's likely to have raised their spirits quite a bit. Because although they overcame a stubborn Wexford Youths team only recently to gift them their first points on the road, they've still not quite managed to get into the rhythm their fans desire.

But with the first series of matches over and done with, manager Tommy Dunne is likely to approach the next set of fixtures with a renewed sense of optimism.

One of Galway's stand-out young players Ryan Manning, should he feature at some point, has been hitting the net quite regularly with Ireland's U18 Schools side. And after netting against The Warriors, he scored again, this time for the international set-up against Scotland.

Now that the Galway supremo knows his players a bit better, he may well alter his footballing philosophy accordingly in the coming weeks.

Speaking ahead of the match, Dunne intimated as much: “We know Longford are a strong side with experienced players like Pat Sullivan and Stephen Rice, but we're more focused on ourselves and the problems we can cause them.”

He continued: “We feel if we approach the game right, we have a great chance of going there and getting a result.”

Referee: Andrew Mullally

MATCH STATS

Back at the beginning of March, Longford Town beat Galway by 1-0 at Eamonn Deacy Park in their opening match of the season. David O' Sullivan netted that night.

Having played the same amount of goals as bottom-of-the-table Cobh Ramblers, Longford have scored a meagre four goals, just one more than the Cork-based club. Contrastingly, though, the men from Leinster find themselves joint second in the standings.

Of all the teams who have played seven matches in the First Division, Galway have the best defensive record – having shipped a paltry three goals.

BETTING

Longford 17/20; Draw 11/5; Galway 3/1

PREDICTION

Much like it was the last time around, this will be a tightly contested affair. With the season now in full swing, the time is ripe for both sides to build on the relatively solid foundations theyve laid thus far. But, it's likely they'll cancel each other out – especially now that Galway have begun to perform better away from home.  A 1-1 final score.

Longford Town

Injuries: None

Doubtful: None

Suspensions: Pat Flynn

Galway FC

Injuries: Alan Murphy (ankle) & Ross Kenny (knee)

Doubtful: None

Suspensions: None