No room for Joyce in championship panel

FRANK FARRAGHER

Galway have settled on a panel of 31 players for their Sunday, May 20, Connacht championship quarter-final joust against Roscommon in Hyde Park (4pm) – Killererin’s Nicky Joyce is the most notable absentee from the panel confirmed last week.

The 29-years-old former St Jarlath’s College player went through a chequered league campaign this season under Alan Mulholland’s new management reign, getting an unexpected first game call-up against Derry in Celtic Park when Cormac Bane had to cry-off due to illness that morning.

Joyce went on to score five points in Galway’s surprise 1-15 to 1-11 victory over Derry, sparking hopes that his prolific scoring power could be a major boost to the county’s league and championship campaign in 2012.

However things did not run smoothly after that with indifferent displays against Louth and Westmeath, although Joyce did land a seven point tally in Galway’s 1-12 to 1-11 league victory over Meath in Pearse Stadium.

Matters again came to a head in Galway’s end of March league match against Monaghan in Longford when Nicky Joyce did not turn up at Pearse Park for the tie, again fuelling rumours that his tenure on the panel might be coming to an end.

 That day, Alan Mulholland’s side had turned in a great second half performance to record a 1-14 to 0-12 victory, a win that secured their Division 2 league status.

Galway then turned in another powerful second half display against Kildare before being caught in Pearse Stadium by a late penalty goal for the Lilywhites that forced a draw, denying the home side a place in the Division 2 league final. Nicky Joyce had to retire early in the second half due to injury in that game.

Last week, it emerged though that Joyce was not on the 31 man panel announced for the Roscommon match, on the basis of the Killererin clubman not being in a position to give the required commitment for the championship campaign, although management have stressed that the panel will remain open-ended through the season.

On the good news front, the return of Caltra’s Michael Meehan (27) to the panel is a great boost. By all account he made a good impression when Galway defeated Laois – quite convincingly – in Ballinasloe last Friday evening.

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