Return of Galbraith a boost for Dunston

THE return of former FA Vase winner Terry Galbraith will add leadership and experience to the Dunston UTS squad, according to manager Chris Swailes.

The defender played alongside Swailes when Dunston claimed a 2-0 win over Northern League rivals West Auckland Town in the 2012 Vase Final, before going on to spend the following eight seasons with Darlington.

Galbraith scored 56 goals in 303 appearances as he helped the Quakers make rapid progress from Northern League Division One champions to establishing themselves in the National League North.

His time at Darlington was brought to an end last month and he followed in the footsteps of another former Vase winner Liam Connell by securing a return to Dunston on Friday afternoon.

After watching Galbraith put pen to paper on a deal, Swailes told the club website: “For me, he’ll bring leadership, he’s vocal wherever he plays and he’ll bring experience and these are valuable, especially in this league.

“Last season I thought we sussed the league and I thought we were lacking a little bit.

“With the two additions so far and hopefully some more, depending on when the season starts, they’ll hold us in good stead.

“Hopefully, it’s the step that we need just to be better than what we were last year if I’m honest.

“We found out what the league is about, I just thought we needed some adjustments in some certain areas and hopefully these two will be able to prove a point.”

Dunston are planning for their second season in the Northern Premier League’s second tier after securing promotion as Northern League champions in April 2019.

They were sat in mid-table in the North West Division before the coronavirus epidemic led to the season being voided by the Football Association.

However, Galbraith insisted that the club can look to challenge at the top of the division as long as “everyone is pulling in the same direction”.

He said: “I’m over the moon, obviously I’ve always had a soft spot for Dunston with my previous history and what I achieved here in The Vase and I’m just buzzing to get started again.

“Obviously it’s got to be promotion, I think everyone’s got to be pulling in the same direction, I’ve spoken to Swaz [Swailes], he’s got all the positive thoughts on what he wants to achieve so I’m bidding into to that as well.”