Armagh 1-6

Galway 1-8

Kevin Egan in Armagh

AFTER five rounds of chaos and unpredictability, the fog is clearing at either end of the table in Division One of the Allianz Football League, and for Galway supporters, it’s looking like there are bright and sunny conditions on the horizon.

Manager Pádraic Joyce hailed the character of his team after this win and there certainly was no small amount of game management and resolve involved in seeing out a victory against an Armagh side that certainly isn’t firing on all cylinders in 2023, but still presents a serious footballing test and a stern physical exam for opponents every time they tog out.

“To come out of Armagh with two points is a fantastic result for us, and the character we showed was brilliant” he said afterwards. “We have got a bit of criticism for not closing games out, but I think we were comfortable in the last four or five minutes. It was an exciting match, a great spectacle to be at, and it’s great to be going down the road with two points”.

Now it’s reasonable to say that not everyone would agree with his assertion that this was an exciting match, or a great spectacle. Fascinating, certainly; intense, at times; and sprinkled with moments of quality too, albeit a lot more in terms of moments of collective and individual defensive brilliance, rather than at the other end of the pitch, where 12 starting forwards scoring 0-5 between them says all that needs to be said about what players were dominant.

Yet there will be positivity too, because ultimately, Galway found a way, and as an indicator of future success, that’s perhaps more valuable to Galway supporters than proving yet again that the team can go toe-to-toe with anyone in a shootout.

For the opening half, once it was determined that the deceptively strong breeze would favour Armagh, it was about containment, and that box was ticked.

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

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