Galway v Leitrim 14/6/08

Started by 45GoneShort, May 19, 2008, 06:55:19 PM

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GaillimhIarthair

Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 11, 2008, 01:12:41 PM
Must be the smallest midfield Galway have fielded in a long time. Coleman is just a rizla paper over 6 foot and while Lydon is 6'3 I think he is not a physically imposing 6'3.

Those two are not going to field much clean ball so everyone better be tuned in to collect the breaking ball. I imagine big Barry will get a run out at some stage alright on Sunday. Maybe sooner rather than later.
Barry would appear to be one of those lads that needs a good kick up the hole from time to time, so I guess Sammon dropping him now might be one of those occassions.
I still cant fathom how Breathnach is making that team and the likes of Mullahy is not worth a run in defence.   

Galforever

QuoteNot sure about that. He got hauled off after about 15 minutes in the Laois game and I think Sammon took him off early in another game as well. He's got talent but struggles against bigger opposition midfielders. I agree though he's probably more suited to the half-forward line.

Well I am sure about it!  ;D I think you are right, He was taken off early in one other match but I think thats when he started midfiled. I would start him at no. 10 & Cullinane in midfield. I'd probably end up dropping Breatnach & moving N. Joyce in there. so many options in the full forward line! I am interested in how Lydon does. I never heard of him before this year. But he impressed early on in the league. Thought he was woeful aginst Ros though.

QuoteAgree Mullahy must feel very hard done by not to have got in at wing back......Bradshaw is not a corner back to start with but suppose a good test would stand to him and at least we would know if hes capable of sticking 2 or 4 on his back if one of Fitz or Burke got injured further into the championship, or the back door.

Mullahy was the best player in last years club championship. sice had a decent league but Mullahy deserves a chance there. Its better that we know now if Bradshaw is up to it at corner back or not. Better than finding out after 20 minutes in an all-ireland quarter final after cooper/brogan, whoever has scored a hatful of scores & the game is over!

GaillimhIarthair

Three things Liam Sammon will want to see this Sunday

By Ray Silke

Galway are raging hot favourites to overcome Leitrim this Sunday in the Connacht championship semi-final. And, no-doubt, if Galway do play to their potential, they will advance.Assuming they do win, and reach another Connacht final - which would be their ninth in 11 years - what are the things the Galway management team will be looking for from their panel this Sunday?


1. A POSITIVE EARLY START TO BOTH HALVES:

If Galway are considering the possibility of going on this season and becoming a genuine contender for a tilt at challenging Kerry's domination of Gaelic football over the past few years, they need to get into the productive habit of starting both halves of their championship games very well.

Against Roscommon, they won pulling up. At the final whistle. However they lacked real drive in the first quarter of the first half when Roscommon would have been very vulnerable to a few early scores.

This Sunday it would be good to see the home side lay down an early marker by coming out of the traps at a good pelt with some real intensity in the challenges and some quality play all round the field.

Against rugged and committed opposition like Leitrim it is vital to try to strangle their self belief as quickly as possible.

If they start to believe they have an actual chance of success, their confidence rises like a series of bush fires that can spread into a full scale blaze in no time. Remember how Eamonn O'Hara's goal last year in the Connacht final threw petrol - and the price of it now - on Sligo's self-belief and drove them on to victory.

A good positive early Galway start to both halves this Sunday would be good practice for the bigger challenges that should lie ahead in the coming weeks.


2. AN IMPROVEMENT AROUND MIDFIELD:

The fact that Niall Coleman gets the nod ahead of Barry Cullinane at midfield confirms that the team management were not happy with Galway's performance around the middle the last day out.

Indeed it was when Roscommon sent Karol Mannion out there foraging for possession from his full-forward slot that the Rossies got a real foot-hold in the game in the second quarter. With Galway only leading by two points at half-time there was nobody in the crowd predicting a 16-point winning margin for the home side.

Perhaps his demotion to the substitute's bench is meant to be a warning shot across Barry's bows that he needs to consistently show improvement if he is to become a definite starter on Liam Sammon's team.

Either way Sunday is an opportunity for Niall Coleman and Mark Lydon to prove they are the duo to man those berths if the side reaches the Connacht final.

Winning midfield is not just down to the midfielders alone and in that context it will be interesting to see how Paul Doherty varies his kick-outs and how many breaks the half back and half forward lines can pick up.

Matt Clancy, with his roving commission, can be a very good and important scavenger for carpet ball too. Winning a vital break might not be as spectacular as a big catch, but the net result is the same. Your team has possession.

There can be no doubt that if Galway are to go on and win this tie on Sunday and then face into a Connacht final and perhaps an All-Ireland quarter-final, they must improve on what has been produced by the different midfield combinations that have been selected thus far.


3. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE FROM EVERYONE INVOLVED:

If the entire panel are in the right frame of mind and working towards the same objective - of reaching another Connacht final - then Galway should be too strong for Leitrim.

Complacency can be a problem sometimes in a game like this where Galway are expected to advance with ease.

There are enough players on the starting XV who have found Leitrim a tough nut to crack in the past to allow that to happen.

Good positive morale in a team setting is vital if a group of players are going to go on and have success. Everyone has a role to play and the positive vibes emitted from the last man on the panel can make a difference just as much as the team's best player.

Sammon and his selectors on Sunday will be judging who are giving out the right signals and they will be especially interested to see how the substitutes react when called upon and the impact they make if and when they are introduced.


GalwayBayBoy

#33
Seeing as nobody has put up the Laythrum team here it is.

Leitrim (SF v Galway): E Lyons; D Reynolds, J McKeon, M McGuinness; G Reynolds, B Prior, S Foley; G McCloskey, M Duignan; D O'Connor, P McGuinness, M Foley; E Mulligan, D Maxwell, D Brennan.

Some interesting comments too by Leitrim's Michael Duignan in this week's Connacht Tribune.

QuoteThis Galway side is far from the best side to come out of the county in years. Another thing is that the Connacht final against Sligo last year. I mean when was the last time Sligo won anything? The performance (by Galway) in that match was the worst I've seen in years but it seems to be forgotten, nobody is mentioning it.

He's right about our performance that day anyway.

SLIGONIAN

Quote from: GalwayBayBoy on June 13, 2008, 01:14:02 PM
Seeing as nobody has put up the Laythrum team here it is.

Leitrim (SF v Galway): E Lyons; D Reynolds, J McKeon, M McGuinness; G Reynolds, B Prior, S Foley; G McCloskey, M Duignan; D O'Connor, P McGuinness, M Foley; E Mulligan, D Maxwell, D Brennan.

Some interesting comments too by Leitrim's Michael Duignan in this week's Connacht Tribune.

QuoteThis Galway side is far from the best side to come out of the county in years. Another thing is that the Connacht final against Sligo last year. I mean when was the last time Sligo won anything? The performance (by Galway) in that match was the worst I've seen in years but it seems to be forgotten, nobody is mentioning it.

He's right about our performance that day anyway.

Interestingly I went to college with Duignan, sound and all that he was when it came to football he has zero respect for Sligo football and ignorance about us which of course on more than one occasion we had a few arguments. So not suprised by his comments. Just aswell he wasnt at our ros game last yr it was worse than the final. He loved seeing us being beat well at least he doesnt pretend like other counties to like to see us win. All that matters is that we won and we nearly have to win it again soon to gain some measure of respect and I think our players know that.

I dont think the ros game was much of an improvement for Galway this yr on what I saw last yr. Anyways Michael Sligo are going to be alot better this yr than last so expect a higher standard if your watching ;).
"hard work will always beat talent if talent doesn't work"

magpie seanie

QuoteSome interesting comments too by Leitrim's Michael Duignan in this week's Connacht Tribune.


Quote
This Galway side is far from the best side to come out of the county in years. Another thing is that the Connacht final against Sligo last year. I mean when was the last time Sligo won anything? The performance (by Galway) in that match was the worst I've seen in years but it seems to be forgotten, nobody is mentioning it.

Leitrim folk in general have no respect for Sligo football and are disgusted we won Connacht last year so I wouldn't be too worried about what he says. When they won in '94 Connacht football really was at an all time low (Mayo thumped by 20 in '93 semi final and themselves murdered by Dublin in the semi that year) so they are trying to say the same about our title. The province wasn't great last year but nowhere near the depths of '94's rubbish.

Lar Naparka

Janey Mac, I'm surprised to hear that about Leitrim fans. Personally, I'm Mayo out and out but I think myself and the rest of us bear Sligo no ill-will whatever. We intend to beat then every time we meet but that's life- and football.
I never gave much thought to Leitrim as we don't meet very often but I'd suppose we will cheer them on on Sunday. I have never met enough Leitrim fans to have formed any opinion about them but I'd be sorry to feel that they look down on Sligo.
Nil Carborundum Illegitemi

IolarCoisCuain

Quote from: Lar Naparka on June 14, 2008, 11:44:58 PM

I have never met enough Leitrim fans to have formed any opinion about them but I'd be sorry to feel that they look down on Sligo.


It's not a Leitrim thing Lar; it's a human universal, as summed up by John Prine and Kris Kristofferson in their song "Jesus was a Capricorn"

Everybody's gotta have somebody to look down on
Someone to feel better than any time they choose

Leitrim always think that they can beat Sligo. Mayo can live with Galway, but hate, hate, hate losing to Ros. Roscommon can't bear the thought of losing to Leitrim, Sligo want to beat Mayo and Galway don't like Mayo either. We all have our little quirks; it's nothing personal, I reckon. :)

Lar Naparka

Iolar, you're bang on the button there.
I had never really thought about it before but you are dead right; we don't hate Sligo or Leitrim too much because we don't anticipate being beaten by either.
Upsets may happen occasionally but we always tend to put them down to us being careless rather than either of them being any good.
Roscommon on the other hand can present a threat to civilisation at times and being beaten by them is always a distinct, if remote, possibility.
I think Mayo and Galway have mutual respect for each other; if Galway get to the semis or to the final itself we will row in behind them and they will do the same for us.
I wouldn't be trying to stir things up or anything like that but the Sheepstealers do tend to be in a league of their own, unloved by all.
The late Tom Kennedy, (Kennedy's in Drumcondra) was a shrewd judge of people and he certainly had plenty experience of his place being thronged with supporters from all over the country.
On two legs or four, he never met the likes of the Rossies, on any of their rare visits to Croker.
"Thick as sheep shit and acting as if they owned the place," was Tom's verdict.
Of course Lar wouldn't go that far but then Tom was a sharper observer of fans in the wild than the present writer could ever hope to be. ;)
Nil Carborundum Illegitemi

Our Nail Loney

who hit the first point for galway there? just missed it

3-2 at the min, joyce with two, the free taker from leitrim with their two

Our Nail Loney

Leitrim can't aford joyce that much space, 1-2 for him already

Our Nail Loney

why is there f**k all galway support in salthill?

Farrandeelin

Because they are annoyed that Galway don't play their home games in Tuam Stadium I think.

PS Iolar, you're dead on about Sligo wanting to beat Mayo. It's as good as an All-Ireland (or Connacht) to some of them and that dislike of Mayo intensifies around Enniscrone and the general Tireragh area.

PPS, Leitrim not doing too bad despite Marty Morrissey *can't think of the right expression* over Padraic Joyce the whole first half.
Inaugural Football Championship Prediction Winner.

Our Nail Loney

What a left foot Meehan has, strikes the ball brilliantly.

GalwayBayBoy

Not a great display today. Needless to say a big improvement is needed before the Connacht final next month. At least they should be motivated for that one. There was a lot of going through the motions today in dead Pearse Stadium.

First the bad. Midfield was again a problem. Leitrim hoovered up a lot of breaking ball in the first half. It wasn't until Barry Cullinane was introduced that someone in a maroon jersey finally started to catch some ball. Lydon doesn't really look up to it. 6 foot 3 but he has no presence around the middle at all. Cullinane may not be much of a footballer but at least he catches some ball. He has to start.

Finian Hanley was poor at full-back. Declan Maxwell seems to give him all sorts of problems. In fairness to Hanley he generally handles everyone else pretty well but Maxwell is his kryptonite. The defence in general looked slightly wobbly at times today however Fitzy was missing and then Niall Coyne cried off before the game so it was a somewhat rejigged defence on the day. Not good enough all the same.

Forwards did well in patches. Nicky Joyce looked a bit rusty but should be better next day out. PJ was excellent. Mattie Clancy not his best day. He dropped two balls when he was clean through on goal. Meehan hit and miss although he got better as the game went on and created the goal for Bane. Bane was very good when he came on. Kicked 1-2. Game seemed to pass Conroy by a  bit but he's young and will learn from it. Breathnach made a complete hames of a one on one with the Leitrim keeper when he blasted it straight at him. No composure at all. Should be under pressure from Bane or Armstrong now.

Overall not a display to write home about. Looked like Galway were coasting in the first half until Hanley got caught ball watching and let Maxwell run in behind him for the Leitrim goal. That gave Leitrim heart when it looked like they were fading. Galway then got 6 points up and proceeded to start kicking some awful wides in the last 15 minutes that kept Leitrim in the game. Big improvement needed the next day or they can forget about another provincial title.