Roscommon 2-25

Galway 0-13

IF the aim of a county development squad is to give up and coming players a sense of the level required to reach the pinnacle of the game, this young Galway outfit were given a stark lesson last Friday as they were comprehensively outclassed by Roscommon in the FBD Connacht League final.

As soon as the two teams were named, it was clear that Galway were in for a tough ask in the Dome. While Diarmuid’s Blake’s side had done well to overcome a near-full strength Leitrim team the week previous, a Roscommon panel which included 11 players who played in last year’s Connacht final – the likes of Conor Carroll, Eoin McCormack, Dylan Ruane, Diarmuid Murtagh, Conor Cox and 2023 All Star Enda Smith – was always going to be a different story.

To make their task that much more difficult, Galway’s inexperienced side made a slow start to proceedings while the Rossies raced out of the blocks, building up a 1-4 to 0-1 lead inside the first 10 minutes. The gap was 11 at the break, 1-14 to 0-6, with a run of seven unanswered points from Roscommon all but putting an end to any hopes of a meaningful contest, and Davy Burke’s side stretched the lead further in the second half with Enda Smith palming home their second goal late on to widen the chasm between the sides.

As nice as a bit of silverware in January might have been, however, there was no mistaking that this was purely a learning exercise from a Galway point of view. You could question exactly how much there is to be gleaned from such a one-sided encounter but this is a new approach to the FBD League for Galway and some aspects may need tweaking.

Certainly, a case could be made that it would be beneficial if a few more of the fringe players on the senior panel were given a run in these games, not only for their own sake but to better guide the novices as well. That being said, despite the one-sided nature of the contest, some players were still able to make their case for promotion to the senior squad proper for the league campaign to come.

Pictured: Galway’s Cian Monaghan getting the better of Roscommon’s Keith Doyle in the FBD League Final.