Galway miss opportunity to finish Roscommon off

IT’S hard to escape the conclusion that Galway footballers missed a real opportunity of capturing the county’s first Connacht title in eight years at Pearse Stadium last Sunday. The winning line was in sight, but they were unable to seal the deal against a gritty Roscommon outfit.

Backed by a strong wind and two points up in the 68th minute in opposition to a team which had raised only a pair of white flags up to that juncture of the second half, the odds were strongly in Galway’s favour of clinching a 45th provincial crown in front of a huge crowd – given the terrible day that was in it – of almost 25,000.

Unfortunately, some poor decision making and a couple of sloppy wides down the home stretch prevented the Tribesmen from closing out the contest. They left Roscommon hanging on and it’s to the credit of the visitors that they salvaged an unlikely replay with late scores from Cathal Cregg and substitute Donie Smith.

In the first Connacht final between the counties in 18 years, there was a big build up to the game, but hopes of a quality encounter were badly hampered by the dreadful weather conditions and with both teams having a defensive mindset, this proved a contest which will not live long in the memory. Over 450 hand-passes also marred the spectacle.

For all that, both Galway and Roscommon will be relieved to have survived a struggle which never really caught fire. The regular sight of 15 players being behind the ball when the opposition was attacking militated against much open football and led to serious congestion in the respective scoring zones. There was lot of stake and ‘playing safe’ seemed to be the mantra for the day.

Having unexpectedly taken out Mayo in the semi-final, at least Galway showed that result was no fluke. They were well organised and some confidence has been restored to their ranks. The home team were a little more attack-minded than Roscommon only for a few wrong options to undermine some good build up play.

In the opening-half, it appeared the Galway half backs had the freedom of the park such was Roscommon’s desire to retreat in numbers when they didn’t have the ball despite having the elements in the favour. Team Captain Gary O’Donnell, who was in inspired form, had their first score of the match; Gareth Bradshaw did likewise at the start of the second half; while Liam Silke also made a number of upfield raids.

Roscommon’s tactics were hard to justify in the circumstances, but they got a break in the 16th minute when Enda Smith booted to the net for an opportunistic goal after Galway needlessly lost possession out the field. That goal gave them a 1-6 to 0-6 advantage at the break, but the men in maroon had looked more purposeful and they also engineered some quality points from the impressive Danny Cummins and Johnny Heaney.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.