Hope in short supply as Galway head to Navan

FRANK FARRAGHER

A LOT of pieces in the Galway footballing jigsaw, that were scattered so disjointedly around McHale Park last Sunday week, will have to be put together again in a drastically revised format at Navan this Saturday evening (7.0), if Tomás Ó Flatharta’s charges are to avoid a summer of club football only.

Galway’s meek 1-12 to 1-6 exit from the Connacht football championship at the hands of Mayo, following hot on the heels of the county’s spring relegation from Division One of the National League, has left morale in the county at a very low ebb. Is it past the point of rescue? . . . the general opinion is ‘yes’ . . . only a win on Saturday evening against Meath in Páirc Tailteann can save the day.

The Galway team will be announced tonight (Thursday) at training in Loughgeorge, and the general consensus among the close observers of the game in the county, is that at least four to five key changes will be on the cards.

The most obvious one is likely to be the return of Finian Hanley to a defensive position after his temporary posting to a midfield role that never suited the Salthill-Knocknacarra clubman. He is now likely to slot back into the full backline where he will ‘dutied’ to pick up one of Meath’s big inside men in Joe Sheridan or Paddy O’Rourke.

It seems likely that Tomás Ó Flatharta and his backroom team will also opt to reconstruct their half backline with Gareth Bradshaw likely to be recalled from his wing forward role to fill the No. 5 shirt, while the return of Milltown’s Diarmuid Blake to the centre back position, also seems imminent. If that scenario emerges, it seems likely that Gary O’Donnell and Greg Higgins will be the players to make way.

The midfield vacancy, left by Hanley’s probable return to defensive duties, is likely to be filled by young Micheál Breathnach’s midfielder, Fionntán Ó Curraoin, one of the stars of this year’s All-Ireland under-21 winning side. He now seems likely to partner Joe Bergin at midfield.

There is also strong speculation that Athenry’s Thomas Flynn, just after completing his Leaving Cert – Ó Curraoin’s midfield partner in the under-21s – could get the start, possibly in one of the wing forward slots with another under-21, Mark Hehir, on the other side. Oughterard’s Matthew Clancy is likely to be picked on the ‘40’ to give a vein of experience to the line.

Closer to goal, Caltra’s Michael Meehan – beset by major injury problems for the past 15 months – could be given the full forward slot in a bid to bolster the strike power of the attack.

It would be something of a calculated risk, given Meehan’s lack of match practice, but along with Padraic Joyce and Cormac Bane, he would complete an inside line of attack with plenty of scoring power.Whether a potential revamp of that scale can turn around Galway’s fortunes, is highly debatable, against a Meath side playing in front of a passionate home crowd and buoyed up by their 5-8 to 2-8 first round qualifiers win over Louth.

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