Shane Keegan was extremely disappointed to see his Galway United side go down to a 2-1 home defeat against Shamrock Rovers at Eamonn Deacy Park, giving up a 1-0 first-half lead. The result will not do their relegation survival hopes any favours what
Shane Keegan was extremely disappointed to see his Galway United side go down to a 2-1 home defeat against Shamrock Rovers at Eamonn Deacy Park, giving up a 1-0 first-half lead.
The result will not do their relegation survival hopes any favours whatsoever, especially with other results going against them, and the Laois native was in no mood to dance around the issue when he addressed the media following the match.
“The club’s future is at stake – my future is at stake, there’s no point in me saying otherwise,” Keegan said regarding United’s precarious position near the foot of the table.
“Our performance was very good in the first half and quite poor in the second half. We should have been good enough to hold on to the point, at least, simple as that.”
Ronan Murray netted an emphatic penalty in the 27th minute to give the Tribesmen a deserved lead which they held until the end of the first half and right into the final quarter hour of the match as Rovers sieged their goal with chance after chance.
However, Gary Shaw, who boasts a great record of scoring against Galway, was on hand to break the home fans’ hearts by producing a clinical brace to nab all three points.
His first was a looping header in the 78th minute while his second of the night with just one minute of normal time remaining was a stabbed finish inside a crowded box.
The result means that, although there is still time for the Corribsiders to turn things around, the relegation fight is likely to now go down to the wire.
“There haven’t been too many clubs who have gone down to the First Division and bounced back in full health, really so there hasn’t,” Keegan conceded. “I think we’re good enough to stay in the Premier Division.”
“If we go down it has financial implications, it has gate implications, it has morale implications, all those kind of things and it’s not something that anybody wants to happen within the club,” he added.
