Good win yesterday, Galway have got what they want out of the league in terms of giving more players significant game time and having lads put the hand up to give the mgt team selection headaches. After the Roscommon game (it might be the worst IC match I was ever at) I wouldn't have given Galway any chance of making the final so while it's been tough sledding since, Galway have ground out the results in a workmanlike and professional manner. While it mightn't have set pluses racing and there's no wow factor to Galway at the minute compared to Mayo, there's a lot to be said for just finding a way to stay in matches and not lose all the same.
Tierney is the one player who has really upped his game to a new level, has been in outstanding form from the Tyrone game on. His soaring one handed mark from a kick out yesterday is the kind of really impactful play that he is now regularly delivering, hopefully that will continue on into the final next week and then the championship.
As for next Sunday, well there is no doubt that Mayo have clearly been the team of the league, they have played the best football and have swatted aside some top teams along the way. If Kerry or the Rossies had got through yesterday, I'd have fully expected Mayo to beat them and win the final. Now that it's Galway there my head is telling me the same story but the heart doesn't want to listen to it!
Galway have lost a lot of finals in CP since the 2017 Division Two final and no harm for the team to get winners medals if possible, not the end of the world if they don't (thinking of the Div Two final last year, which turned out to be forgotten about and irrelevant to the rest of the year) but again, there are a good number of those players who have lost finals in CP (and won them to be fair to the 2020 U20s and the lads with AI club medals) but Galway could do with finally winning a league, a very tough assignment awaits however.
I would caveat that one of our truly important players in McDaid - who is built for CP and has played his best stuff in a Galway jersey there - is out by the sound of things, that is a massive loss from the team that played in Castlebar to open the league.
For me the main take out of this league campaign is the defensive team improvement by Galway. For all the talk about good forwards and it's been done with David Clifford with Kerry at the end of the day the team with best defence almost always wins national titles. Cian O'Neill, John Divilly I can imagine have been the main men in Joyce's management that has brought about that improvement. Once a team gets the structure and system of their defence right the loss of individuals will not be felt. Sunday will prove another good test as Mayo have been scoring 18 points per game average in the league and Croke Park will likely suit the game they want to play under McStay.
I think Galway have lost their last 5 Div 1 finals since their last win in 1981 and I see Joyce has said he lost 3 Div 1 finals himself as a player so will be a feather in his cap if he lands this title as a manager and all the more sweeter against neighbours Mayo.
Good to see Connacht teams finish 1st,2nd,3rd in Div 1 and Sligo are on the rise also. Connacht hasn't been this strong since the early 00s.
