Galway United are preparing for a difficult game against Shelbourne this Friday in the second round of First Division fixtures.
John Caulfield acknowledged that Shelbourne have been “setting the pace” in the division so far, and have an even stronger squad now than they did in the Premier Division.
But he added that United are well aware of their own strengths, and are looking forward to the game in Tolka Park this Friday.
United are currently in the middle of the table of the First Division after a 1-1 draw against UCD last week, where Maurice Nugent evened the score with a late goal.
Critically, the Tribesmen were down a player during the second half of the match.
Shelbourne are leading the division handily at this stage, currently five points out ahead at the top of the leaderboard.
With no losses so far this season, Shelbourne have also won six of their last seven outings.
“It is the start of the second round of fixtures; Shelbourne are on a great run of form and we are looking forward to the game,” John Caulfield told the club’s media team.
“We were happy to get a last minute draw in Cork last week after being a man down. The boys showed great character, as they have shown on a number of occasions this season with late goals.”
“This week will be another difficult game. Shelbourne have excellent players and probably have a stronger squad now than they did in the Premier Division.”
“As I always say, we need to perform to our best. It was a close game between the two teams in the first game of this season. We know how good a team they are, but at the same time we know how good we are as well.”
“It is a very tight league; Shels have hit the ground running and are ahead of everyone at the moment. They are setting the pace so far but there is still a long way to go.”
In squad news, Francely Lomboto and Ronan Manning are down for the foreseeable future due to injuries, and Stephen Walsh will miss out due to a suspension, but Conor O’Keeffe and Shane Doherty could be on the squad after returning to training following injuries.
