AN opening-round FAI Cup tie against non-league opposition which had, on paper at least, the look of a routine night at Eamonn Deacy Park, has taken on new levels of stress, with Galway United under pressure to deliver a big win against Tolka Rovers in Eamonn Deacy Park tonight (7.45pm).

There’ll never be a better opportunity to end the poor run United are on – three defeats in their last four games, and no goals scored in the last two – and with all due respect to tonight’s visitors from Dublin, United really need to fill their boots ahead of crunch league ties at home to Waterford and away to Cork City in the next fortnight.

Results last weekend conspired against United, and a side that had previously flirted with the top of the table has now slid down to 8th in the table, one place and six points above Sligo Rovers in the relegation play-off spot.

Having finished in fifth last season, and narrowly missing out on European qualification, this season has been a struggle and certainly hasn’t seen United build on the promise of last year.

Gone is the defensive solidity which saw them concede just 29 goals in 36 games – they have already passed that mark this season (30 conceded) with a third of the campaign still to go.

They were at least scoring a few more, but the departure of top-scorer Moses Dyer – 10 goals in 20 games – hasn’t helped matter, and neither has the talk about other players following him out the door.

The likes of Jeannot Esua, Pat Hickey, and the club’s best player of the season so far, Rob Slevin, have all been rumoured to have been the subject of approaches from other clubs, and whether true or not, that has to have an unsettling effect on a squad struggling for confidence.

“It’s just a bit of a difficult time for us at the moment, we can’t buy a goal,” United manager John Caulfield said after last Friday night’s defeat in Dalymount Park.

“Look, I don’t want to be critical, we’re going through a bit of transitional stage and you know, we’ve had a good few changes to our team, but we have fellas coming in and we have fellas there and they’re not playing as well as they can. That’s frustrating for them and for our supporters because, you know, they’ve given massive support.

“We have a week to get it right for a massive cup game on Friday night and we need a few goals and we need to win a match and that’s what we have to try and do,” he said.

Tonight’s match is followed by those two absolutely crucial league games, but for the United management, the only focus this week is on the cup.

“For me, it’s about our next match, and that is the cup game. We’re at home, we’ve gone two games without scoring, we’ve had a few chances, and to be fair to Malcolm [Shaw], he’s working hard, and Walshy [Stephen Walsh] is working hard.

“The only way is to go back to the training ground and work hard and try to lift everyone. The lads have to lift themselves. We have amassive cup game Friday and we have to try and get it right for that.”

There is always the temptation to make changes for a cup game, especially when the draw has been as generous as it has, and tonight will afford the opportunity to get game-time in to some players.

“You’re trying to get the game time into players at least. [Aaron] Bolger got 70 minutes, we can see he’s a very good player but he needs more game time and [Axel] Piesold as well.

“We need to get more game-time for Malcolm because you know, for a fellow who hasn’t played since November, to come in and start two games, we are asking him to do everything.

“We know a bit about Tolka Rovers, we have done a little work on them already and we know their strengths, but at the same time we have to start putting the ball in the back of the net and win a match.

“We need to crowd behind us and we need the lads to try and get their form back in.

“Then it is up to me and the management to maybe make a few tweaks to see, can we get a bit more energy to our team.

“We have to dig in, the confidence in some of our better players is just down a bit at the moment,” Caulfield says.

Season tickets do not apply for cup games, with match-day tickets on sale now on the club website, or from O’Briens on Williamsgate Street.

Pictured: Malcolm Shaw in action against Lewis Temple of Shelbourne in United’s most recent home game. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.