Galway United 2

Waterford 4

WHEN you find yourself in a hole, the best advice usually is to stop digging, but Galway United continue to wield a shovel as their alarming lack of form continues, leaving them now just three points above the relegation play-off spot.

Waterford came into this game at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night on just as poor a run as their hosts, but profited from some abject defending from a side whose confidence looks shot to pieces to register their first win at the ground in 18 years.

There are some mitigating factors, not least the loss of key players in the last month or so: top-scorer Moses Dyer has followed the cash trail to Cambodia; Cian Byrne has been recalled from his loan spell here by parent club, Bohemians; while Patrick Hickey, often the focus on United attacks, has been sidelined for the last four games due to injury.

The transfer chatter probably doesn’t help the focus either – a number of the United squad were rumoured to be moving during the transfer window (which closed on Monday night with none of them having left), others are being linked with a move at the end of the season, and John Caulfield’s comment after the game that “a number of players moving on next year” might suggest it was not all idle speculation.

But there are other matters that cannot be overlooked, chief amongst them being the abandonment of the defensive set-up that served United so well last season.

Last season’s four-man defensive line was as rock solid as any in the division, but United moved away from that in 2025, opting for a last line of three centre-backs, but it is a tactic that is clearly not working.

Pictured: Galway United’s Stephen Walsh getting the better of Waterford’s Andrew Boyle during Friday’s Premier Division tie at Eamonn Deacy Park. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.