A day of redemption for Joyce and the men in maroon

Mayo 0-16

John McIntyre at MacHale Park

IT doesn’t matter that Galway didn’t build on an explosive start; it doesn’t matter that they were second best for the 20 minutes before half-time; it doesn’t matter that they were hanging on grimly at the finish.

The only thing that matters is that Galway won this thrilling Connacht Senior Football Championship quarter-final at a heaving MacHale Park on Sunday. It represents a landmark triumph for manager Padraic Joyce and his team after a heroic second-half effort against the wind.

Having only retired on level terms at the break – and arguably luckily to have done so – an uphill struggle faced the Tribesmen on the resumption, especially as Mayo’s physical power and pace had become defining features of their increasing dominance as the opening half progressed.

Most Galway supporters were downbeat during the interval. They had seen their team bolt from the traps in carving out a 1-3 to 0-1 lead after only eight minutes. It was a start which left Mayo reeling, but the Connacht champions gradually began to dominate territory and possession to such an extent that the men in maroon were living off scraps.

But Mayo had expended a lot of energy in reeling in their great rivals, and with the stakes so high for Joyce and his squad, it would have been disappointing if Galway didn’t respond to the challenge with renewed purpose and commitment in the second-half.

This was the game that the men in maroon needed to stand up and be counted in. It was almost make-or-break for this group of players and management. The pressure was huge, and Galway would have had little leeway for excuses if they again ended up falling to their arch provincial rivals . . . except that they still weren’t good enough.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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