John Caulfield: 'I knew all week, once there was a change in manager, I knew there would be a different challenge here'

Paul Corcoran reports from Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway United left it late to claim the three points with a 95^th minute winner required to separate the sides as the Tribesmen ran out 1-0 winners over Wexford at Eamonn Deacy Park on Friday night.

Having conceded a last minute winner last weekend against Bray Wanderers, Galway turned the tables this week with David Hurley scoring his first goal for the club to win the game for John Caulfield’s side.

“Last week we conceded with the last kick of the game and tonight we scored a fantastic goal,” Caulfield said, speaking to the press after the game.

“I knew all week, once there was a change in manager, I knew there would be a different challenge here.

“A really difficult match coming into it because of a lot of expectations, people just think you’ll get goals.

“Football is funny, we did create a good few chances, the goalkeeper made a couple of great saves, but it’s one of those nights where you haven’t put them in and they get confidence from the fact that they haven’t conceded and they’re battling hard.”

The win last night is Galway United’s first at Eamonn Deacy Park since last September, having gone on a run of seven games without a win at Deacy Park.

“All we could do tonight is win a match and get three points.

“No matter what score it was, in terms of getting two goals or three goals which we didn’t do, it’s still only three points and the most important thing is the three points, that might be the kick for us.

“There’s a lot of talk about our home form not being good but that’s our first win of the season at home and we’re happy about that but I keep saying that this League is difficult, Wexford will cause surprises, they will cause problems.”

The Tribesmen’s focus now turns to next Friday night and their trip to Turners Cross to face Cork City.

That will be John Caulfield’s first time facing the club since departing his role as manager of the Rebels midway through the 2019 League of Ireland season but the 2017 League and FAI Cup double winning manager is focused only on the three points on offer.

“It’s another match, it’s three points,” he said.

“If we go away from home we have to put in the performance.

“Cork, a huge club, Colin Healy, a really good manager, good players at the club and at the same time for us it’s another game, we get three tonight but we have to go there, difficult game next week and we must work hard during the week and be ready for that again.”