By Kevin Horgan

GALWAY United finally ended an abysmal away Connacht Derby record when they defeated Sligo Rovers on Saturday night. It was the club’s first league win at the Showgrounds since goals by Mark Herrick and John “Jumbo” Brennan secured a 2-0 victory back in 1996.

Thankfully for the Tribesmen, they won’t be facing into a similar poor record this Friday as they face Derry City at Eamonn Deacy Park (7:45pm. In fact, United will have a busy few days as next Monday they will take on league champions, Shelbourne, at Tolka Park (5pm).

United defeated the Candystripes twice last season, once at home and once away. In the first round of fixtures this season, the Tribesmen drew with their Northern opponents, 1-1, at the Brandywell Stadium.

Ùnited come into the game in third position in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division table, while the men from the Oakleaf County sit in sixth place, following their 3-1 defeat to Drogheda United last week.

Speaking after his side’s success in the Connacht derby, Galway United manager John Caulfield said he was delighted to end their Sligo hoodoo.

“It was a great night, a great night for the West of Ireland. Someone was telling me we haven’t won here in however long, but we were obviously down for a long time. I thought we played really well tonight, the way we moved the ball about was excellent.”

The former Cork City manager was also happy with his side’s work rate throughout the game but expects a difficult challenge against Derry City at Eamonn Deacy Park.

“We worked really hard. Walshie came on and did what Walshie does and worked very hard. Young Elding missed a good chance and then he hit the bar, but I thought we had the game under control.

“We then concede a soft penalty, we know what Ronan can do around the box. Look, young Kerrigan came on and I thought he did really well, he’s been training well the last few weeks. It can be hard for lads to adjust from college football to this, but he did very well. We have a tough game now against Derry. We will be hoping we can get a big turnout because it’s going to be difficult.”

On Monday evening at 5pm in Tolka Park, Caulfield’s charges will play their second game over the Bank Holiday weekend as they face Damien Duff’s, Shelbourne, at 5pm. They currently sit fourth in the Premier Division table, and will face Drogheda United this Friday, away from home.

The Westerners lost their two league games at Tolka Park last season and were also knocked out of the FAI Cup at the North Dublin venue, following a narrow defeat after extra time. When the sides met earlier in the season in Terryland, they played out a 1-1 draw.

The United management team have placed a big emphasis on recovery and fresh legs when forced to play two games in three days in the past, so Caulfield will be expected to make some changes for the Shels game after hosting Derry City on Friday night.

United will go into both matches over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend full of confidence, after their positive end to the first round of fixtures last weekend.

A brace of goals from Cian Byrne saw United win their fourth game of the campaign against Sligo Rovers. They have lost only one of their nine outings so far, but their fortunes against Derry City and Shelbourne this weekend will offer a better indication of whether the Westerners are genuine contenders for a first ever top flight league title.

Pictured: Galway United Head Coach John Caulfield whose team face a busy Bank Holiday weekend programme in the Premier Division.