Treaty United Player Profiles: Keane, George, Christopher

Matt Keane: The Kerry man possibly made the biggest impression at Treaty last season after his arrival from Killarney Celtic. Supporters did not know much about Keane outside of the fact that he played under Tommy Barrett for Limerick FC under-19s five years previously.

Arriving as a centre-midfielder, Keane was deployed as a right winger on the opening day in Bray. He has an incredible work rate up and down either flank and maintained his position on the wing while making 29 appearances in both the league and FAI Cup. His tireless work rate in defence was evident due to the fact that Keane was subbed off on 15 occasions, which was testament to the fatigue as a direct result of his tireless running.

The midfielder wasn’t just about work rate however as he provided some dangerous crosses and scored a goal to win the Munster derby against Cork early in the season. He will be as aware as anybody that he has a battle on his hands to keep favour with Tommy Barrett as the likes of Conor Melody and Dean George have returned from injury. Keane suffered a broken foot in pre-season which hampered his preparations significantly but has returned in time for the kick-off.

Steven Christopher: Steven was signed by Treaty in the July transfer window as he had fallen out of favour at Galway United. He went on to make 14 appearances for the club on their play-off journey and became a firm favourite for selection, starting on 12 occasions.

He offered a lot of protection to Marc Ludden but took time settle in an attacking sense. His best performance of last season arguably came in the second leg of the play-off in UCD when he was played in the number ten role. Unfortunately for Christopher, his involvement in the game may be mostly remembered for the straight red card he received for a foul on Evan Farrell in the second half when Treaty were 0-2 up.

In pre-season, the 25 year old was played at right-back on a couple of occasions and looked comfortable. He possesses a lot of pace and will be desperate to make a big impression this season. He has a huge amount of first division experience at a young age with 126 appearances for Cobh Ramblers and Galway also and 12 goals scored.

Dean George: The striker/winger had an injury plagued first season with Treaty United which led to him making just 8 appearances overall with four of those coming from the substitutes bench. His League of Ireland career started with Wexford FC at the age of 17 and he spent three seasons with the club at that level before moving to the senior squad for a brief spell in 2019.

George moved to Athlone Town and rose to national prominence when he scored a hattrick to knock Shelbourne out of the FAI Cup in 2020. However, the pre-season campaign of 2021 didn’t start well for George and at exceptionally late notice, he came under Treaty’s radar and within three days he was signed for the Limerick side as the 26th squad member.

However, injury derailed his season which was very frustrating for both parties as he had shown great promise during his rare starts on the wing. Although he picked up a knock in pre-season, he was available for three games and will be hoping for an injury free run in 2022.