Can Longford Town get past Galway United in the promotion play-offs?

Up to a few weeks ago Galway were second in the table with Waterford third and it looked as if the Town were to play the Blues side but Galway had a kind of mini slump and Waterford went past them and therefore they play Treaty United who would seem to be the supposedly easier team to meet in the play-offs. 

Treaty and Waterford had semi-final games in the FAI Cup recently and both failed to make it to the final in losing out against Premier Division opposition Derry City and Shelbourne. 

The Town travelled to Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night last for the final First Division fixture this season and came away with a point from an exciting 3-3 draw. Looking at the two squads for the game one can see that both managers were just going through the motions with many regulars being left out or rested.

 The Town started with a shadow team which was captained by Karl Chambers who is our longest serving player and he played against Galway in the First Division play-off final back in November 2020. 

Karl scored the opening goal in that game and local hero Aodh Dervin scored the all important second goal in the 2-1 victory over the favourites who got a consolation goal from Killian Brouder in the 88th minute. 

That win over Galway pushed the Town into the First Division/Premier Division play-off against Shelbourne which the records will show that the Town won 1-0.

 The only goal of the game on that memorable occasion came from Rob Manley who will be in the Galway team in the upcoming games. Rob was a very popular player when he was with Longford Town. 

Going back to the meeting between the clubs back in 2020 there has been many changes from back then. The Town squad on that occasion included Mick McDonnell, Shane Elworthy, Karl Chambers and Matthew O'Brien who came on for Karl Chambers (injured) in the 73rd minute. 

The Galway squad included Wilson Waweru and Francely Lomboto who were subs but were introduced in the second half. 

Don't be surprised if history repeats itself this year but for that to happen the Town will need to get results at home and away to get to the one off final which will be played at a neutral venue and more than likely full time Waterford should get the better of Treaty United over two games. 

The fact that the Town and Treaty are playing against full time clubs would indicate wins for Galway and Waterford but football is never straight forward  and it produces some big surprises.

 In the meetings between Longford and Galway this season the Town have two victories, a draw and a defeat and those results show that the Town are capable of getting results in both play-off games. 

The good news for Town supporters is the fact that club captain Sam Verdon is back fully fit and he will cause lots of problems for Galway over the two games.

 It was good to see Cristian Magerusan getting a full game after being out for a long period and he scored and gave the new look Galway defence lots to worry about as not only is he a goal scorer but he is a very clever player. 

Matthew O'Brien, who like Karl Chambers came through from the Town underage teams, capped a fine display with the Town's second goal in the 35th minute. The Town's opening goal came from Darren Clarke in the 9th minute and he gave a great performance until being replaced by Sam Verdon in the second half. 

The Galway goals came from former Town players. Evan O'Connor equalised for Galway in the first half and Rob Manley scored twice in the second half to earn them a draw.

 Looking forward to the upcoming games one expects them to be very close and we can expect a backlash from John Caulfield who by all accounts is under severe pressure down in Galway. 

Can Longford Town get past Galway United over the two legs? 

GET OUT AND SHOUT FOR LONGFORD TOWN FC IN THEIR PUSH FOR PROMOTION!