Galway turn to new blood

IT’S as if, almost by stealth, the Summer has crept upon us . . . the Sunday Game is back, the Premiership has been laid to rest, clouds of dust are rising in goalmouths and the Connacht Championship is under way.Hope and expectation in vastly different measures will be nurtured in the hearts of Galway and Roscommon football supporters before their first round clash in Pearse Stadium on Sunday (4.0).Galway haven’t won an All-Ireland senior title in seven years – for Roscommon that gap is getting closer to the 70 mark, but the onset of the summer season always opens up a small tap of regeneration.Both counties have come through massive contrasts in their league campaigns. Apart from the last match against Cavan, Roscommon endured a horror league campaign which eventually led to the resignation of manager John Maughan.Galway put together an impressive string of victories in the National League, unlucky to slip up against Donegal in Ballybofey, but a good distance behind Kerry in Pearse Stadium, when the real pressure came on to secure a league final place.The football supporters of Galway are still out on jury deliberation as to whether this side really has a chance of making a genuine stab at All-Ireland glory – the Kerry match was a serious reality check, and the subsequent defeat of the All-Ireland champions by Derry in the league final, also made a lot of us think again.Galway though did ...................