Keegan scored a consolation in a 2-1 away loss at Wexford tonight. He played the 90 minutes. Wexford now leapfrog Galway into 3rd and the second playoff spot and push Galway out to 4th. Keegan is now the club's league top scorer on 8.
@gufcfan, are you posting live from Galway? If you are going to these matches, coming home and then giving us news, you are doing us a great service indeed.
I don't go to Galway FC matches. I don't wish to contribute any money towards their coffers. There are some great people involved in the club, volunteering, working hard, but it is controlled by people with their own interests at heart. Galway FC is probably the only "club" in the world that is not allowed to have any youth setup. I wish the players well, nearly all of them are local. I can't bring myself to attend matches though. It's far more complicated than that though.
Keegan was lively tonight. A decent amount of chances it seems. No goal. but provided an assist in a 2-1 away win at the league leaders.
Brief interview with Keegan, might be of interest. Keegan “We needed to respond” Match report also that mentions Keegan a number of times. Longford 1-2 Galway
Extended highlights of that match, with a couple of chances from Keegan. Galway in maroon and white. Keegan's shirt number is 12. Video is long enough, so might not be that interesting for you, I don't know.
Keegan started against the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division leaders in the away cup tie at the weekend. Played 76 minutes. Galway put it up to Dundalk, but after going 2-0 down, the manager probably had half an eye on the promotion race in the First Division, making 3 changes on 76 minutes. Padraic Cunningham, who replaced Keegan, pulled a goal back as Galway pushed Dundalk, but couldn't find the equaliser. Match report Here's a decent interview with him from the main website dedicated to covering the League of Ireland. Jake Keegan - "Galway in a good position"
Played 90 mins in a 1-0 home league win on Friday night. Played well. Wexford, who are chasing Galway for second and final play-off spot, slipped up against bottom team Cobh, only avoiding defeat with a goal deep in injury-time. It's Galway's to lose at this point. 3 points ahead of them and vastly superior goal difference, with 5 matches to play. Galway will play Wexford at home on the last day of the season. One of Keegan's strike partners, Ryan Manning, was called up to the Irish u19 squad. One of only three based in Ireland and the only one from the second tier.
Keegan scored twice in a 3-0 away win at Shamrock Rovers in the league this afternoon. On double figures now in the scoring charts with 10 goals. Photo First goal was a tap-in and for the second he ran onto a ball over a Rovers defence, slotting the ball past the advancing keeper with his left foot. 4 matches left.
“Jake has been fantastic since the start,” Dunne said. “He’s come in as an outsider to League of Ireland football. The basic requirement of any player is work rate and if you’re talking about somebody who epitomises work rate, it’s Jake Keegan. “He works his socks off in training, he works his socks off playing. He’s a credit to himself, the club and his family back in America. “He’s somebody that we would love to keep and we’ll be looking to. He could become a hero for people in Galway. Jake has been great...."
Should be noted that Shamrock Rovers B are the lone reserve team in the division, hence the lack of home fans.
Keegan on crucial win in Tallaght. I forgot to mention that Rovers were able to have a few players from their Premier Division team drop into the B team today. They had won they on the spin prior to today also.
First goal is Keegan. Galway are in the final promotion playoff position, 5 points ahead of their chasers, with 3 games left.
Profile in Connacht Tribune: http://connachttribune.ie/nomadic-us-striker-banging-in-the-goals-for-galway-fc-843/
Keegan's an Irish name, as is Kevin (his dad's name). Does anyone know about his eligibility for an Irish passport? If he's got an Irish granddad he can get citizenship and move on to the UK lower divisions. Otherwise it's kind of hard to see where this is leading him. The League of Ireland D1 is ranked 40th in Europe and with most D1 players being part-timers - 2,ooo Euros per month is considered very good pay - the country's top 3 would be mid-table at best in League2 the country is only scouted by the English and Scots clubs: i.e. no Work Permit, no transfer. The last Irish players to move from the League of Ireland to the Continent were Padraig Amond to Pacos de Fereira in 2010 and Dominc Foley to Belgium in 2005, and Foley already had 90 appearances in England (mostly for Wolves and Watford in Championship) and 17 appearances for Braga to his name.