Exciting weekend ahead for Galway United’s Senior Men’s and Women’s sides

31 May 2024; Galway United manager John Caulfield before the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between St Patrick’s Athletic and Galway United at Richmond Park in Dublin. Photo by Stephen Marken/Sportsfile

John Caulfield stated he’s looking forward to the game in Derry. “We’re halfway through the season, we know that Derry are one of the title contenders. They have the firepower to win the league if they get a few wins together and they beat Waterford 3-0 the other night, they’ve been really impressive. We know we’re going to have to defend very well, and when opportunities come to use we’re going to have to them” Listen to John Caulfield’s chat with Galway Bay FM, in full below:

Phil Trill’s side have been in impressive form this season and currently sit top of the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division table. The side are coming into the game off a 1-0 win over Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght two weeks ago thanks to a great Eve Dossen goal, you can watch the highlights below:

This Saturday they’re back at home in Eamonn Deacy Park, facing a very strong Wexford side. Tickets are available now for an important league game on the banks of the Corrib, kick off is at 5PM. United will look to bring their good form into this one, especially with one eye on the following week with a crucial away game against Shelbourne in 2nd place.

25 May 2024; Galway United manager Phil Trill before the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division match between Shamrock Rovers and Galway United at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Tyler Miller/Sportsfile

Match Tickets for our Senior Men’s away game and Senior Women’s home game are currently available. Get yours below if you haven’t already, by clicking on the image below!

Galway United have currently recorded 10 clean sheets this season. The Tribesmen have also only conceded 11 goals this season, meaning we have the best defensive record in the Premier Division so far and up to last week had gone nine games unbeaten. Speaking about United’s defensive record recently to LOI TV, United assistant manager Ollie Horgan stated that United have been “defensively very good” this season.

United keeper Brendan Clarke has been pivotal to this defensive record so far this season. Clarke boasts an impressive career in the game, winning the First Division with the Tribesmen last season and previously winning the FAI Cup twice and the League Cup on three occasions. Caulfield is aware of the importance of the defense and looks to get back on track for the game against Derry City “We have been brilliant at keeping clean sheets and not giving away goals, unfortunately last week we gave away two, let’s hope tomorrow we don’t give any away””

12 April 2024; Galway United goalkeeper Brendan Clarke applauds the supporters after the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between Waterford and Galway United at Regional Sports Centre in Waterford. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile

Derry City Manager: Ruaidhri Higgins. Higgins has been in charge of the Candystripes since 2021. The 39 year old Derry native, has led Derrry City to the Runners Up position in the Premier Division the last two seasons. Higgins also led the Candystripes to the FAI Cup title in 2022, following a final victory over Damien Duff’s, Shelbourne at the Aviva Stadium.

Higgins had a stellar playing career playing for clubs such as Derry City and Dundalk FC. As a player, Higgins won the FAI cup twice with Derry City and won the League of Ireland Premier Division with Dundalk.

31 May 2024; Derry City manager Ruaidhrí Higgins during the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between Dundalk and Derry City at Oriel Park in Dundalk, Louth. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile

Derry City’s Key Player: Patrick Hoban. Hoban, has consistently been one of the best strikers in the league over the last number of years, playing as a traditional number 9 with an incredible finishing ability. He will always bring a bit of magic to a game, and has done that for Derry City this season too. During his time at Dundalk FC, Hoban picked up three Premier Division Winners medals. Forrester also had spells across the Irish Sea with clubs such as Oxford United and Mansfield Town.

3 June 2024; Patrick Hoban of Derry City during the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division match between Derry City and Waterford at The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium in Derry. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Wexford FC Women’s Manager: Hugh Strong. Strong was previously manager of Shelbourne FC’s U19 Men’s team, before he became Wexford FC’s Senior Women’s manager. Strong has also coached DLR Senior Women’s side and has  previously coached at Bohemian FC’s academy for five seasons.

8 February 2024; Wexford FC Manager Hugh Strong poses for a portrait during a Wexford FC squad portraits session at the SETU Carlow Campus. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Wexford FC’s Women’s Key Player: Della Doherty. The Laois native originally arrived at Ferrycarrig Park in the summer of 2021 making 15 appearances for Wexford Youths Women, the season ending in success with an FAI Cup Final win over Shelbourne at Tallaght Stadium.

Della was ever-present in the Youths defence in 2022 with 25 starts and was a key player in Wexford’s 2022 title challenge but suffered an ACL and MCL injury in the penultimate League game. Doherty has previously captained Ireland at underage level and has also played for Peamount United. Interestingly, Doherty has also previously played Ladies Gaelic football for Laois at underage level.

8 February 2024; Della Doherty poses for a portrait during a Wexford FC squad portraits session at the SETU Carlow Campus. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

• Watch the game live on LOITV 

You can stream the game LIVE on any device, anywhere worldwide with LOITV.

• Social Media 

You can follow us on social media to see match updates, particularly on Twitter and our Instagram or Facebook stories.

• Get the FAI Connect app 

FAI Connect is a free app where you can see live scores and updates of games across Ireland, at any level. We would highly recommend downloading it on your phone for extra information.

The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium is located in the Brandywell area of Derry City and is located 4 minutes away from Derry city centre. The stadium was re developed during the 2017 season, meaning Derry City played their home games in Maginn Park in Buncrana in 2017, with the Candystripes returning to the Brandywell venue in 2018. The pitch itself is a 4G synthetic grass pitch, however was previously a grass pitch prior to 2017. NIFL Championship side Institute, also play their home games at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.

We’re delighted to share that ahead of Saturday’s crucial Senior Women’s league game, that iSupply have joined as match partners. We have been partners for almost a decade now, they help United with lots of different services from printing programmes to pitchside signs regularly so we couldn’t recommend them anymore. They offer high quality services across many different areas which you can find out about on their website: https://isupply.ie/ .We will provide you with a full breakdown of their services ahead of Saturday’s game against Wexford.

 NexVentur are Official Away Game Partner for the 2024 season for both Galway United Senior Men’s & Senior Women’s Teams. 

NexVentur is a recruitment and relocation specialist and provides recruitment services in Ireland for temporary, contract and permanent staff. What sets it apart from other recruitment agencies is the unique relocation arm of the business, which assists people relocating to Ireland or Australia, and particularly Irish expats returning home, with a suite of essential services. These include placing them in jobs, special relocation flight deals, PPS numbers, visas, banking, relocation logistics and home removals, pet relocation, Irish mortgages and more.