Inside Track with John McIntyre

THE Connacht senior football championship kicks off this weekend but, remarkably, none of the five home participants will be heading into the chase for the JJ Nestor Cup on the front foot.

Galway are still smarting from failing to win any of their last three Division 1 matches – a series of results which cost them a place in the league final – while their big rivals Mayo’s challenge was comfortably swatted aside by Kerry at Croke Park last Sunday.

At the same venue the previous evening, Roscommon were put in their place by an admirable and rejuvenated Monaghan in the Division Two final, while the province’s two minnows, Sligo and Leitrim, have lots of problems of their own.

Leitrim were relegated to Division Four after a series of humbling results and didn’t field at all against Fermanagh, while Sligo’s only wins in the same section in a difficult campaign came against Clare, Antrim and Leitrim.

It means all these team west of the Shannon have something to prove and while we will learn nothing from Galway’s jaunt to the Big Apple this weekend for a meaningless, money-wasting box ticking exercise against the exiles from New York, at least Padraic Joyce can use their trip state side as a bonding mission.

Roscommon are on their travels too, but their carbon footprint will be much smaller as they are only bound for Ruislip for their quarter-final clash with London, who suffered five defeats in their Division Four league campaign this spring.

It leaves the clash of Mayo and Sligo at MacHale Park on Sunday as the only game of consequence in the Connacht championship quarter-finals. It mightn’t be a formality for the hosts either as they must regroup quickly from that Division I final defeat to Kerry.

On their day, Sligo are a decent team. Last year they had Galway all but out of the Connacht championship at Markievicz Park only for Damien Comer’s rampaging run setting up Rob Finnerty for the match-winning goal. And look where the Tribesmen ended up.

The local grassroots weren’t impressed with Galway’s flat conclusion to their league season. Sure, they were missing some key players in that disappointing home group loss to Kerry, but the team had lost some of the vigour which marked several of their earlier displays.

Still, Galway remain understandable favourites to win the Connacht title for the fourth consecutive year – a feat the county previously managed just once before in the fifties – and with a clean bill of health, they remain the team to beat in the province.

On a broader level, Kerry look in rude health.  The Clifford brothers, Paudie and David, did a lot of damage against Mayo and ominously, on the four previous occasions Jack O’Connor steered the Kingdom to National League glory, they also added the All-Ireland title. Galway and the other main contenders – Dublin, Donegal and title holders Armagh – have some catching up to do.

Pictured: Galway’s Cillian McPhillips is chased by Roscommon’s Colm Fitzgerald during Friday’s Connacht Minor Football Championship clash at Tuam Stadium. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.