Drogs boss Clancy is relishing Galway trip
LAST weekend’s fixture list was kind to Tim Clancy as the Drogheda United boss managed to spy on four of the club’s next five opponents in 24 hours - including Galway United who host the Boynesiders this Friday (7.45pm).
The manager spent Saturday evening at City Calling Stadium watching Longford Town v Shelbourne, and then on Sunday afternoon he headed down the M1 to see Galway defeat Cabinteely 2-1 in Stradbrook.
That type of dedication comes with the territory when you’re managing at this level and Clancy saw enough on Sunday to believe that Galway aren’t unbeatable even on their own patch, while also getting a reminder that Cabinteely - who visit United Park on Friday week - are a better team than their league position might suggest.
‘Longford against Shels was a really good game and a draw was probably a fair result, and it showed you what it’s like at the top of the table,’ he said, speaking on Monday afternoon.
‘Galway got the win on Sunday, but Cabinteely can feel aggrieved because they had a lot of chances in the game. They’re not a bad team - they beat us out there and Shels as well - and we have them in a couple of weeks, so it was a good opportunity to have a look at them as well.
‘There’s not a lot between teams. Look at UCD. They beat Athlone 3-0, but two of those goals came in injury time and no one has a divine right to beat Athlone every week. They look a lot more solid now and I would imagine they’ll cause teams a few more problems in the next few weeks.’
Galway, who lie third behind Drogheda on account of an inferior goal difference, have won five and drawn one of their six home games this season and getting all three points at Eamonn Deacy Park looks like a daunting task against a team who recently welcomed back chief marksman Danny Furlong from injury.
That said, Drogheda could be at full strength themselves, with Sean Brennan overcoming a knock sustained against Wexford, Jake Hyland (swollen eye) and Richie Purdy (hamstring) likely to be available and no suspensions to report.
‘It’ll be one of our most difficult games of the season,’ Clancy acknowledged, ‘Danny is a player who can make a difference for them. He scored 30-odd goals for Wexford the year that they got promoted and scored a hatful at the start of this season. He’s an out and out goal poacher and is one of many players we have to keep an eye on.
‘But we’ll concentrate on ourselves this week and try and prepare the best way we can.
‘We have a bit of pace in our team and it’s usually a good placing surface, and if it is then it should be a good game for the fans.
‘I have to give credit to our own groundstaff because our own pitch was a credit to them on Friday night - probably the best we’ve played on this season. Matt [Kavanagh] has it in really good shape.’
Looking back on Friday’s 2-0 home win over Wexford, Clancy was happy enough with the outcome, especially with three of the Drogs’ title rivals dropping points over the weekend.
‘It was a good performance, another clean sheet and another win - a good response after the Finn Harps game - and it sets us up nicely for Galway,’ he said.
One of the game’s talking points was Lee Duffy’s yellow card for going down too easily in the box, and a second similar incident involving the winger had Wexford players calling for a second booking.
‘Lee got booked in the first half when Ross Kenny fouled him and he took another step and went down late, so that was probably fair,’ Clancy remarked.
‘But the exact same thing happened in the second half when one of their lads went down late after a tackle from Conor Kane and the referee didn’t take any action. It’s a little bit of consistency we’re looking for.
‘From where I was for the second one [with Lee], I thought he got to the ball first, there was a collision and he went over.’
Meanwhile, the Drogheda manager has admitted that he tried to sign Drogheda native Gavin Brennan in pre-season but missed out, and despite recent rumours that the younger brother of United Park favourite Sean Brennan would join during the summer he will be joining Warrenpoint Town in the Irish League for 2018/19.
The County Down club’s manager Stephen McDonnell, the former Dundalk midfielder, confirmed the signing last week, saying: ‘I have known Gavin since my playing days, where we had many battles against each other in the Louth derbies.
‘Gavin is a top-quality player and comes with great experience of playing with League of Ireland sides and European fixtures. He will be a great addition to the squad.’
Asked about the news, Clancy said: ‘I spoke to Gavin in the off season and it’s one that we tried to get done, but it didn’t work out. He’s a good player and has a lot of technical ability and it might be a good thing for him starting afresh up in the North.’
We have a bit of pace in our team and it’s usually a good placing surface, and if it is then it should be a good game for the fans.