By Pádraic Ó Ciardha

BREFFNI Park is the latest stop in this rollercoaster season for the Galway footballers but it’s too early to tell just yet if it will prove to be the end of the line for Pádraic Joyce’s side or simply a chance to re-attach the bandwagon before strapping in to continue to journey.

A win against Armagh on Saturday evening (6.30pm) would certainly reignite Galway’s campaign which has stuttered since the Tribesmen and their supporters were celebrating a fourth Connacht title-in-a-row in Castlebar less than six weeks ago.

Galway could and maybe should have been out of the championship even before this final round game in Group 4 only for Joyce’s side to show their mettle in coming back from eight points down late on against Derry a fortnight ago. They now know that a win against the All-Ireland champions this weekend guarantees them a spot in the preliminary quarter-finals. Anything else and, well, it all gets a bit complicated.

A regulation win against Armagh isn’t something Galway have managed in the four championship meetings between the sides since 2022 – Galway won that year’s quarter-final clash on penalties – but the backs against the wall-nature of Saturday’s game means that motivation shouldn’t be an issue for the men in maroon.

Armagh, on the other hand, are already through to the quarter-finals as group winners, meaning the game in Breffni will have no material effect on their season. Anyone hoping for a complacent performance from the Orchard County men are likely to be disappointed, however.

Firstly, Kieran McGeeney is famously a manager that demands the highest of standards at all times and you better believe that a below-par performance, even in a dead rubber game, is not something that he will let slide. If a potential bollicking from Geezer isn’t enough to motivate a lad to put in a shift, who knows what is?

Armagh’s first place finish in the group also means that they’ll have an added week’s rest before the quarter-finals, lessening any need to rotate the team for this game against Galway. Even if McGeeney does choose to leave out a couple of players, there’s no guarantee that those coming in will be of a lower standard.

Pictured: Galway’s Liam Silke is chased by Eoin McEvoy of Derry during the teams’ recent Group 4 senior football chamopinship clash at Celtic Park. The Tribesmen face Armagh at Breffni Park on Saturday evening.