Mayo 1-11

Galway 2-8

Pádraic Ó Ciardha aqt MacHale Park

IT will have been a frustrating journey home from Castlebar for Pádraic Joyce last Saturday night after Ryan O’Donoghue’s last-gasp point saw his side throw away an opening round victory against Mayo. It won’t just have been one thing annoying the Galway manager either.

First of all, Galway had let slip a precious away win in Division 1, and against Mayo of all sides. Secondly, it was a piece of sloppy Galway play which allowed O’Donoghue the opportunity to snatch the draw. You then had the manager’s frustrations with referee Joe McQuillan after a few questionable calls and, to compound matters, the sight of Rob Finnerty hopping onto the bus with a protective boot and crutches.

Now nearly a week later, it will probably be only the last of those issues that will be causing Joyce any concern. While Finnerty’s injury will be a big setback for Galway, there were plenty of positives to take from the Tribesmens’ performance in MacHale Park.

The final score and some instances of sloppy play certainly gave the hint that this was January football but there were also more than a few signs of play which saw Galway reach last year’s All-Ireland final.

Having named such a strong team, ten of those who started against Kerry in Croke Park lined out in Castlebar, it would have been cause for concern if Galway had looked miles off the pace but that wasn’t the case. Cillian McDaid, John Daly and Damien Comer, All-Star winners in 2022, continued their fine form in the maroon jersey with the likes of Paul Conroy and Seán Kelly showing why they were unlucky to miss out on those awards.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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