Decent start critical if Galway hope to floor champs
THERE was a time, and it’s not that long ago, when regardless of the form book, Galway-Mayo championship clashes always slipped into the 50-50 category but over the best part of the last decade, the balance of power has moved pretty solidly to the north of the province.
Five Connacht titles in a row, two consecutive All-Ireland final appearances in recent years and a few big drubbings dished out to all and sundry in the province, have moved Mayo into a different league as they still chase the great dream of winning the Sam Maguire for the fourth time in their history.
Mayo do possess a powerful mix of physique and athleticism – over recent years, if they had one or two more forwards of genuine big day class, it probably would have gotten them over the line on All-Ireland final day.
They had their upheavals through the close season in terms of player power and managerial changes but Stephen Rochford has come in with the CV highlight of having guided Corofin to All-Ireland club success in 2015. He is a stickler for preparation and he is dealing with a driven bunch of players.
Galway, under Kevin Walsh, have not been found wanting as regards effort and commitment over the past couple of seasons, but they have just fallen short in terms of making that jump from being a solid Division 2 team to a top eight outfit.
The search for quality players is always ongoing, and it is only every so often that an extended group of talented individuals coincide in their careers, like the teams of 1998 and 2001. Objectively, Galway are struggling to find that depth of championship talent to take them onto the next level.
Next Saturday evening in McHale Park, Castlebar (7pm), an opportunity does beckon for this Galway team to raise their game to a higher level and to send a message out there of a new era emerging in Connacht football.
So far, it has been a year of some hope for the underdogs whether it be Leicester City in the Premier League; Connacht in the PRO12; or the Tipperary footballers. Here and there, moulds are broken but since 2011, Mayo have maintained an iron clasp on the provincial series.
Mayo are running a tight enough ship in terms of news management of their squad but there are reports of injury concerns over Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Seamus O’Shea, Diarmuid O’Connor, Tom Parsons, Barry Moran and Conor Loftus.
Of that sextet, Barrett (hamstring) and Moran (Achilles tendon) seem unlikely to play any part in the action. If Cafferkey’s hamstring continues to play up – and there are ongoing concerns in the Mayo camp about his fitness – then Kevin Keane is the cover at full back, likely to be flanked by Brendan Harrison and Keith Higgins.
Full coverage in this week's Connacht Tribune.