Boost for Galway as Meehan set to line out in Belfast

FRANK FARRAGHER

SO far, it’s been a ‘tales of the unexpected’ Summer in terms of GAA championship shocks and Galway footballers will travel to Casement Park, Belfast, on Saturday (3pm throw-in) with their early warning radar system turned onto the ‘highly sensitive’ setting for the Round 2 qualifiers clash with Antrim.

Galway will navigate north on Friday evening with the unwanted favourites tag firmly nailed to their backs, but in the wake of their Connacht semi-final demise at the hands of Sligo, Alan Mulholland’s charges will pay little heed to their 1/3 odds for the clash with Antrim.

Antrim mightn’t be regarded as being among the ‘big hitters’ of Ulster football but manager Liam Bradley made no secret of the fact that earlier this Spring they had targeted the provincial title, only to be thwarted by Monaghan in the quarter-final, but only just.

Liam Bradley’s team had looked to be on course for a somewhat unexpected success midway through the second half of that match following a James Loughrey goal, but by all accounts the introduction of one Tommy Freeman turned the game the way of Monaghan.

Antrim might have struggled to extract a 2-11 to 2-9 victory over London last month but with the exodus of young males from Ireland to England’s capital over recent years, the trip to Ruislip is not to be taken for granted anymore.

It is also worth noting that on the first Sunday of February this year, Antrim recorded a 0-13 to 0-12 success over Sligo in Casement Park, so it can be a difficult enough place to come away with a win. Antrim are quite a strong and physical side, so Galway will be gearing themselves for a tough battle, and Alan Mulholland is under no illusions about the task facing his side on Sunday.

“We have been well warned that Casement Park is not an easy place to get a result from but, listen, this is the chance for us to re-ignite our championship ambitions and it’s a game that we’re all looking forward to.

“The way football is at present – and indeed hurling too after last Sunday – any team can beat any other team on a given day. Names and reputations count for nothing – it really is all about producing the goods on the day,” said Alan Mulholland.

The Galway manager said that the display of the hurlers last Sunday was an ‘absolute inspiration’ to everyone in the county and set a great example for the footballers.

“We will need a big display on Sunday but we’ve worked hard over the past five weeks since our defeat to Sligo. That defeat was a terrible disappointment to everyone but we’ve had time since to pick ourselves up and move on,” said Alan Mulholland.

The Galway team will not be announced until tonight (Thursday) but it is pretty certain that there will be a number of changes from the side that went down to Sligo in Pearse Stadium on June 9.

Galway have played challenges against Clare, Cork and Limerick over recent weeks and it seems likely – based on those lineouts – that Gary O’Donnell will take over the no. 6 jersey with Jonathan Duane reverting to a corner back role. The other corner back slot rests between Ballinasloe’s Keith Kelly and Corofin’s Ciaran McGrath.

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