Charlie from the Stands: John and Ollie – the perfect couple

As I look at the League of Ireland table with six games left, I can’t but be impressed by Galway United.

Last year’s First Division champions are sitting mid-table, fighting it out with Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers, and in with a real chance of securing European football for the first time since 1992.

Having won an incredible 30 games out of 36, scoring 98 goals and only conceding 18 last year, virtually steamrolling the First Division with 94 points, I wondered if that was down to the standard of the league, or whether Galway were just that good.

When I look at the Galway squad that beat the league leaders Shelbourne 1-0 last weekend, I see that 90% of the squad is the same as the one that was crowned Champions in October. So how have John Caulfield and Ollie Horgan taken Galway United from a First Division club -which they have been since 2017 - to competing for Europe in the Premier Division?

First things first, Galway are unapologetic with their playing style, something that has proven very, very successful with six games left. It can only be described as a competitive, physical, direct and sometimes unorthodox, way of getting results. But with wins against Shelbourne, Derry City (twice) and Bohemians, there is no question that Galway have matched and beaten some of the best teams in the country this year. But how have they gone about this?

Behind the scenes, the club has been supported with a little help from Comer Group’s $1m per year, but as we have seen in many a club around the world, having money doesn't guarantee success on the pitch.

On the pitch, they have recorded an average 38.2% possession in their games, always preferring the direct route which has seen them miss out midfield during most of their attacks. We saw this to great effect recently against both Derry and Shamrock Rovers when Brendan Clarke could consistently pick out Patrick Hickey with kick outs, which allowed Galway to start a number of attacks high up the pitch.

Surprisingly, Galway have the third most shots per 90 minutes at 9.6. The other stat that makes sense for this style and a John Caulfield team is that they have the highest proportion of attempts from headers at 21.3%. Playing with two hard working traditional wingers, a rugged centre-forward and three centre-midfielders who pick up second balls in their sleep, it’s no surprise Galway United are flying high.

The impressive resurgence of Galway United isn’t just in the men's league, with the club’s women’s team currently sitting third in the Premier Division as well.

For me, the performance of Galway United is driven by the management team’s work-rate. Watching John Caulfield and Ollie Horgan work together is like watching a married couple wrestle each other for the benefit of their children.

It’s normal during a 90 minute match to see Ollie holding back John from hurling abuse at the referee, and within two minutes, seeing Ollie inside the opposition’s technical area infuriated, only for John to come in and grab him by the scruff telling him to calm down. It’s a pantomime, but an effective and passionate pantomime that the fans and players thrive off.

Potential

The atmosphere in The Ryan McBride Brandywell stadium on Friday night was electric, with the feeling that everyone knew how huge a game it was. Then getting the 92nd minute equaliser set the place off. The feeling after that goal was that every time Derry got the ball was like the crowd could pull it into the net.

Standing down at the Showgrounds side of the pitch, looking up towards the JCB, I just thought when that stand is erected and full of ecstatic Derry fans it will be such an advantage to the team. There are only two stands in the league that when you’re playing, you feel like the fans are on top of you, putting pressure on you to make a mistake: Cork’s famous ‘Shed’ and the old ‘Shed’ in Inchicore.

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I will never forget when we played St Pat’s back in the day with the likes of Paul Osam, Martin Russell, Stephen McGuinness and Charles Mbabazi running at you. It was terrifying and enthralling in equal measures. I would love to have seen that stand full on Friday night with fans shouting on the Candystripes, but undoubtedly it is something to look forward to.

Before the game, you knew it was a game that could define the season. With both teams in good form and with very little injuries, it didn’t disappoint. Tactically, it was very different to the other three games this year.

Derry came out flying in the opening stages, creating a few half chances similar to the Shelbourne game, only to be hit with a sucker punch by the impressive Dylan Watts. The goal came against the run of play in a game that was played at the highest level and when you look at the quality on the pitch, there is no question these are the best two squads in the league. You only have to look at the substitutes that came off the bench, particularly Graham Burke and Patrick McEleney, both playing a huge part in the game.

A lot has been made of the penalty. I have been in that situation many times; you’re in the box, running to get a nick on the ball, you see out of the corner of your eye the defender coming, you slow down just slightly to let the defender think he can get a touch first and you wait for the contact. That’s what Patrick did and won a penalty, and well, the rest as they say is history. I’ll reiterate what I said on RTE, Patrick McEleney’s job is to bring the league title to the banks of the Foyle, and that is exactly what he is doing.

Two other things that were not talked about were Josh Honohan’s decision to go into the tackle when he really should have just let Patrick win the ball and head to the corner flag. If I was Stephen Bradley, I would have been raging at Josh. The other one is the fact that the penalty had to be dispatched. It’s all well and good winning the penalty but the pressure on Pat Hoban was immense. Then throw in the fact that Leon Pohls guessed the right way and dove right into the corner, it took a great penalty to get past him.

It was another goal from a player that had a point to prove when he came on. Hoban never lost a header in the 30 minutes he was on the pitch, again showing the character of the man. He is a player that Derry will rely on and expect to score some important goals before the end of the season.

Trying to predict this league is like trying to predict the Irish weather - although Shelbourne look like they are stumbling up Waterloo Street after a few pints, with the red light looking like it’s been on for a few weeks.

Sligo Rovers travel to Tolka Park this week in what is a must-win game for the hosts, especially when looking at their other fixtures. Should they fail to win and Derry or/and Rovers pick-up three points, then Shels would be in serious trouble.

Drogheda, over the last six games, have been one of the in-form teams, not what you want to see when Derry have to go there and win.

This is always a challenging venue to get three points, but should Derry manage to do so, it will start to crank up the pressure on a wobbling Shelbourne. Both teams will be looking over their shoulders for Shamrock Rovers, who picked up an impressive three points at home to their bitter rivals Bohs on Monday, and with home games against St Pats and Shelbourne, it could prove to be a big week for the Tallaght team.