By DARREN KELLY

THE first of this year’s provincial finals presents Galway with the opportunity to win back-to-back Connacht crowns for the first time in 20 years on Sunday (MacHale Park, Castlebar, 1.45pm) when they take on Sligo.

With the new-look championship draw generating interest, the Tribesmen and the Yeats County will focus on taking hold of the Nestor Cup first before national matters take over.

In their eighth consecutive final, Galway are red-hot favourites to win a 48th Connacht title that will put them level with Mayo in the roll of honour. And that result will see them join Tyrone, Westmeath and either Derry or Armagh in the round-robin.

All signs indicate that this will be Galway’s day. They beat Roscommon 1-13 to 1-9 in the semi-final in April with Damien Comer kicking 1-4.  They showed their ability to deal with a Rossie onslaught and keep control of the scoreboard.

Their opponents are Division 4 opposition while the maroon and white operated in the top tier. Their scheduled last championship meeting in 2020 didn’t happen as Sligo conceded due to the impact of Covid on their squad. The previous year, Galway ran out 3-11 to 0-7 victors in the Connacht semi-final.

But that was before manager Tony McEntee and underage results delivered three Connacht titles. Sligo’s time as a ‘Big Dog’ mightn’t be too far away even if their 2023 progress has benefitted from a favourable path to this final.

The year began poorly with a six-point league defeat to Laois. But since then, Sligo are on a nine-game winning streak. They beat Wicklow 2-10 to 0-14 in the Division 4 decider in Croke Park and maintained that form during their championship schedule.

A trip to London was rewarded with a 2-20 to 0-13 victory. And they didn’t allow the ‘Fairytale in New York’ distract them, winning 2-16 to 0-6 in Markievicz Park. With a Division 4 crown and Connacht Final place achieved, Sligo now have nothing to lose.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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