Galway minor footballers won’t get anything soft from Sligo in Connacht semi-final

“Looking back over the four games, we’ve played in patches but at times we’ve made basic errors. Our handing, the breaking ball and our passing inside those things that we have worked on haven’t come through consistently in a game.

“You would hope that the passing might get a little bit better and we have spent a lot of time in the last ten days working on that,” said Gilmore.

Shane Heneghan has impressed in front of goal with a tally of 2-7, while Adam Healy has added 0-8 over their four Connacht MFC outings. Midfielder Oisin O Neachtain has also chipped in with an important 0-8, while goalkeeper Evan Burke has emerged as a key scoring threat, landing six points from long-range frees during the championship.

Captain Eoin Gannon, Ryan Connolly and Keelan Moran give Galway plenty of pace from the back. Evan McDonagh. who fractured his hand in their victory over Leitrim, has made his return from injury and will be available for selection this Friday.

Meanwhile, their opponents Sligo had a mixed campaign getting wins against Leitrim and Mayo and tasting defeats to Roscommon and Galway during the group stages of the Connacht MFC.

Ryan Healy, Ryan Lang and Jack Kelly are players that carry plenty of threat in the Sligo attack and then boys in maroon and white will need to be disciplined in defence.

The sides met in round three of the Connacht MFC and there was nothing between the teams where Galway edged past Sligo 0-19 to 1-12. Gilmore is expecting a tough battle against the Yeats County.

“It’s knockout football at this stage, we know how good Sligo are, we had a ding-dong battle with them in Tuam. They had a good win over Mayo, they lost to Roscommon by a point, it’s going to be a huge game. Connacht semi-finals no matter who it is, it’s going to be a tough game, we have to get ourselves right for that,” added Gilmore.

“We have- a tough day ahead of us on Friday, at the same time we are confident that we can do well. Not alone is it a chance to get into a Connacht minor final for our lads but it is also a chance to get into the All-Ireland quarter-final, it’s a massive incentive for the lads. Sligo are really good but we have a decent team and it’s going to be difficult for them as well.”

Since their round five Connacht MFC victory over Mayo, Galway have had a two-week break heading into the Connacht semi-final against Sligo, with Gilmore insisting their aim is to produce a consistent performance.

“The management team thinks highly of the potential of the squad, there is one thing having potential but there is another thing going out and showing it in a game. I think there has been an improvement but I just feel we need to get that consistency for a bigger part of the game.

“We are also conscious they are young lads. They’re 16 and 17 years of age, you can’t expect them to be doing what senior teams are doing either, it’s in them to be consistently better than what they have been showing.

The Tribesmen last reached the Connacht final at minor level in 2023, while their most recent provincial title at this level came in 2018.Gilmore feels that the U-17 grade is about developing players and their skills.

“It’s all about development with them, our coaching reflects that. 90 per cent of our emphasis is on the skills of the game. At this level, you tend to because they are not the finished product, whereas at adult level or 20’s level they should be a bit further on and at senior level they should be the end product

“We try not to put the pressure on them, we want them to go out and enjoy it. We want them to be intense on the pitch but off it we want them to be relaxed and hopefully we get that right,” concluded Gilmore.