Preview | Galway United vs Finn Harps (Pre-Season Friendly)

“We are excited and looking forward to the game but it is pre-season so it’s more about getting minutes into the players and hoping they can show what they have been doing in training over the last few weeks.”

Galway United host Premier Division side Finn Harps at Eamonn Deacy Park at 2.30 pm on Sunday in their first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2021 League of Ireland campaign.

United will go into the friendly aiming to give as many players as possible a run-out, in what will be the squad’s first time playing a game together. This match will be the first of four pre-season friendlies in the next 4 weeks against Premier Division opponents for United, before their season opener against Shelbourne on March 26th. These friendlies will allow manager John Caulfield to see the new signings in action as well as returning players on the pitch for the first time since last November’s play-off final. John Caulfield is looking forward to watching his side return to action in Sunday’s clash against Finn Harps.

“We are all looking forward to the first pre-season game,” Caulfield told the club’s media team.

“The plan is to give everyone 45 minutes. We are coming to the end of our third week of training and now everyone is looking forward to playing the first friendly match. The lads have trained very hard and it will also allow the new players to get 45 minutes under their belt.

“We are excited and looking forward to the game but it is pre-season so it’s more about getting minutes into the players and hoping they can show what they have been doing in training over the last few weeks. It has been great being in full-time training too. There has been a fantastic response to it and I am really delighted with the attitude of the squad ahead of the first pre-season game.

“The squad have gelled quickly together in the first few weeks so we are very happy about that.

Stiff Competition

“The great thing about today’s game is that Finn Harps are a great Premier Division club and have done fantastic over the years with Ollie Horgan. For us, it will be a great challenge but it is not about the result tomorrow as the most important thing is that the lads get minutes under their belt and come through it without any injuries.”

“Going into the match, there will be a number of lads that won’t be involved tomorrow due to slight knocks. Ronan Manning, Conor O’Keeffe, Shane Doherty and Caoilfhionn O’Dea won’t be involved as we are giving them a few more days to recover. But other than that, everyone else will get a run out.”

John Caulfield is sponsored by McGinn’s Hophouse, Woodquay, Galway.

LIMITED COVERAGE

The club will not be streaming this season’s friendlies. Unfortunately, per the FAI and HSE Covid-19 guidelines, all of the club’s friendlies must be played behind closed doors. Periodic match updates will be provided via our Twitter account. Full Match Report will follow.