London v Galway 25th May 2014

[seafoid]

Nice win. If we could make a bit more progress this year we could be on track to take over from Mayo in a few years. Shane Walsh is a great sort of player to have. The u21s might come good yet.

[larryin89]

Nice win. If we could make a bit more progress this year we could be on track to take over from Mayo in a few years. Shane Walsh is a great sort of player to have. The u21s might come good yet.

Do you think a Connacht title is beyond Galway this year, even if Ross beat Mayo ?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Nice win. If we could make a bit more progress this year we could be on track to take over from Mayo in a few years. Shane Walsh is a great sort of player to have. The u21s might come good yet.

Do you think a Connacht title is beyond Galway this year, even if Ross beat Mayo ?

I'd say beating Mayo in Castlebar would be beyond them this year anyway. Think a Galway v Roscommon final would be in Salthill so certainly a winnable game for both sides. That said I would not look beyond the Sligo game. We haven't had the best record against them in recent years even if this Sligo team may not be quite as good as some previous ones.

[seafoid]

Nice win. If we could make a bit more progress this year we could be on track to take over from Mayo in a few years. Shane Walsh is a great sort of player to have. The u21s might come good yet.

Do you think a Connacht title is beyond Galway this year, even if Ross beat Mayo ?

ross won't.
I think Mayo are still too strong but they won't keep going forever. Hopefully they can win Sam before we are back doing the biz.

[larryin89]

I prefer to have a middlin Galway than the piss poor effort last year in salthill . Nothing beats a close game between the two in Connacht final, 06 in Castlebar, 09 in Salthill etc, classic finishes .

I always want to win of course but it's hard to beat a nail biting provincial final albeit the sting has gone out of it a fair bit since the back door.

[seafoid]

I prefer to have a middlin Galway than the piss poor effort last year in salthill . Nothing beats a close game between the two in Connacht final, 06 in Castlebar, 09 in Salthill etc, classic finishes .

I always want to win of course but it's hard to beat a nail biting provincial final albeit the sting has gone out of it a fair bit since the back door.

Agree

the late 90s matches were magical as well

[BallyhaiseMan]

I  mean in years to come, not now. There's no reason London shouldn't set it's sights on fielding a proper London team and not a team of lads over for a few years.

I was thinking that was what you meant.

[magpie seanie]

Seems like I badly misrad this one though it's always hard to really know how good/bad London will be. No matter how weak they might have been that's an impressive score and job done by Galway. Our top scorer got injured in club championship yesterday (not sure how serious it is) - we'll have it all to do when they come to Markievicz Park.....and it's live!!!!

[GalwayBayBoy]

Match reports from the Rumble in Ruislip™.

Indo

GALWAY showed their intent by breaking London's spirit early en route to an easier than expected victory in Ruislip.

Under Paul Coggins, the Exiles have built quite a competitive record at home in the championship, being beaten by only one and two points respectively in their 2012 outings against Leitrim and Antrim – before that historic victory over Sligo last season.

The run to the Connacht final last year held further promise for London, but these heroics looked a long way off after Michael Martin hit 1-2 after only six minutes.

Man of the match Shane Walsh had hit the opener for Galway after only 15 seconds and, trailing 1-3 to 0-0, the hill couldn't have been steeper for London.

The Exiles took to the field with six Galway natives and former 'keeper Adrian Faherty was prominent throughout, shot-stopping, setting up attacks with some clever kick-outs and striking frees when the opportunity came on the cusp of the interval.

But it was symbolic of London's first -half performance that the furthest man from the attack was the most potent.

All the while Galway pressed relentlessly. London simply could not cope with their pace and Danny Cummins, along with Walsh and Martin, were to the fore, with full-forward Eddie Hoare getting in on the act in the second period.

As half-time approached Galway had kept London scoreless and it appeared as though they would go in at the break having failed to register.

When Faherty did convert a free on 34 minutes, it was met with an ironic cheer from the crowd – the loudest of the afternoon.

Last season's All Star nominee Lorcan Mulvey made a difference when introduced at the interval, but London had nothing but pride to play for at this stage. Walsh, Martin, Cummins, et al, just continued to make hay, all three finishing with maximums to their name.

That they arrived with the minimum of fuss made it all feel very pedestrian and tough to swallow for London.

"It wasn't (a championship contest in terms of intensity). I think the stuffing was knocked out of London after the first 10 or 15 minutes," said Galway manager Alan Mulholland.

"We knew they'd target the early part of the game to try and lay down a marker and we took that away from them with the early scores. That probably knocked them back in terms of confidence.

"We knew coming over here we'd a job to do and we were going to have to perform very well to win, so we left no stone unturned in terms of preparation for this game. long as we keep the lid on this now and make sure that no one gets carried away. The intensity wasn't quite there, so we are going to have to have our heads screwed on for the visit to Markievicz Park."

Having experienced such exhilarating highs in the championship last summer, this was a significant low for Exiles manager Paul Coggins, who must try and lift his side ahead of the qualifiers.

"I think Galway played very well there," said the Roscommon native.

"They came over, did a job and did it very well and look at times we were in a battle with them, but they were a lot more composed than us and they took their scores well – the last goal was a bit of a killer, but I think they are a very good team. I think they did very well and I think they deserved their victory."

Scorers – Galway: S Walsh 1-6 (2fs, 1 '45'), M Martin (1f), D Cummins 1-3 each, E Hoare 0-3, M Lundy, A Varley 0-1 each. London: A Faherty (3f), L Mulvey (2f) 0-3 each, J Feeney 0-1.

Galway – M Breathnach 7; D O'Neill 7, F Hanley 8, J Duane 7; G Bradshaw 8, G O'Donnell 7, P Varley 7; F O Curraoin 8, T Flynn 7; M Lundy 7, S Walsh 9, J Kavanagh 8; M Martin 8, E Hoare 8, D Cummins 8. Subs: G Higgins 7 for O Curraoin (47), A Varley 7 for Martin (51), D Comer 6 for Lundy (51), J O'Brien 6 for Flynn (57), C Mulryan 6 for Bradshaw (60), E Concannon 6 for Hoare (68).

London –A Faherty 8; P Butler 7, S Curran 7, D McCarthy 5; S Hannon 5, T Gaughan 6, M Walsh 6; M Gottsche 7, M Carroll 7; G Crowley 6, D Dunleavy 7, C O'Neill 5; E O'Neill 6, P Geraghty 7, J Feeney 6. Subs: L Mulvey 7 for C O'Neill (h-t), B Collins 7 for McCarthy (h-t), M Miskelly 6 for E O'Neill (47), S Mulligan 6 for Carroll (61), L Colfer 6 for Feeney (62), B Mitchell 6 for Walsh (66).

REF – F Kelly (Longford)



Game at a glance

Man of the match

Shane Walsh (Galway)

The Kilkerrin-Clonberne forward used his pace to devastating effect, cutting the London defence to shreds. Took his goal with aplomb in the second half, finishing with a tally of 1-6. At just 20 years of age, Walsh has a bright future.

Turning point

None. Galway took the lead after just 15 seconds and they never looked back. By the 10th minute, they had hit 1-5 without reply and had ended the game as a contest.

Magic moment

London goalkeeper Adrian Faherty endured a difficult afternoon against his home county, but he was the centre of attention at the end of the first half.

Having finally gotten London on the scoreboard from a free, the Claregalway stopper produced a superb save to deny Michael Martin, and then raced down to the other end of the pitch again to kick another free right on the stroke of half-time.

Talking point

Are Galway re-emerging as a serious force in Connacht football? They possess an array of talented young footballers, and their blistering start at Ruislip suggests they mean business this summer. Whether it will be enough to stop Mayo is another thing.

Ref watch

London felt Fergal Kelly sided with the visitors on a number of 50-50 calls, but this was a decent outing by the Longford official. He resisted the temptation to brand any cards until the closing stages, while there were no incidents that merited a black card.

What They Said

Paul Coggins (London manager):

"We probably didn't get enough early ball into the big lads inside, but look, Galway have a very good full-back line and a very good full-back able to deal with high balls, so there was no point playing to his strengths either."

Alan Mulholland (Galway manager):

"We got a goal very early, that settled us and probably knocked London back. We targeted the first 15 minutes as we knew that they were going to try to welcome us. We knew we were going to have to set a marker down and set the tone for the game."

Times

Galway centre-forward Shane Walsh outstanding, finishing with 1-6, as London freeze

Malachy Clerkin

Galway 3-17
London 0-7

Careful what you wish for, eh? After spending last summer clawing and scratching to be taken seriously, London were made to endure an afternoon of precisely what that entails. A 19-point torching from a Galway side that had no patience for the idea that they might become another notch on the Exiles' bedpost like Sligo and Leitrim had last year. The carriage didn't so much turn into a pumpkin as get picked off with a bazooka.

Paul Coggins's side froze and turned in the sort of performance we assumed belonged to a bygone age. They were a point down inside 18 seconds and were picking the ball out of their net by the third minute.

They sat scoreless all the way until injury-time at the end of the first half and didn't manage a point from play until the second half. Only one of their starting outfield players managed to score all afternoon. "It's hugely disappointing," said Coggins afterwards.

"You don't like to be beaten like that because we have a lot of pride in our team and in ourselves," he said. "Galway played extremely well and if you're beaten by a better team you're beaten by a better team. The first 10 minutes, we wanted to be up there and we weren't. They got the start that we wanted and from that moment on we were in trouble.

"Our preparation felt no different to last year. We were ready. We thought we were ready, anyway. In fairness to Galway, they came out with a lot of energy and they had a big performance. We tried everything. We had 10 or 11 shots in the first half and didn't get a point until those couple of frees in injury time. That's very disappointing. We're disappointed for our fans and our families."

The pity of it was that as a result of streaking across the sky last summer, they've managed to pique more interest in London's Irish community than ever before. They drew a crowd of just short of 3,000 to Ruislip yesterday. They hoisted a couple of marquees, slung burgers and pints to the masses. A brilliant summer sun blazed down and country music blared. Alan Mulholland said afterwards that he half-expected to arrive to find a pitch with grass up to his knees but the place couldn't have looked better. The whole scene deserved more than what London offered up.

There was none of the brio of last summer, none of the fight or even the organisation. Galway walked through them at their ease. Mulholland's side had 1-6 on the board after 15 minutes, by which time London had yet to even record a shot.

If Galway came prepared for all scenarios, they can't have imagined this one was particularly likely.

"The stuffing was knocked out of London early on," said Mulholland. "We knew they'd be targeting the early part of the game and trying to lay down a marker and I think when we took that away from them, it probably knocked them back in confidence. It wasn't really championship intensity after that."

[Canalman]

Honestly think Galway will have a very big say in this year's championship.

For all Mayo's recent improvement and record in CP they will never imo anyway have the sense of menace that even a unheralded  Galway team has  arriving in CP.

[Tubberman]

Honestly think Galway will have a very big say in this year's championship.

For all Mayo's recent improvement and record in CP they will never imo anyway have the sense of menace that even a unheralded  Galway team has  arriving in CP.

This is Galway, the county who haven't won a match in Croke Park in 13 years? Very menacing alright...

[Canalman]

Honestly think Galway will have a very big say in this year's championship.

For all Mayo's recent improvement and record in CP they will never imo anyway have the sense of menace that even a unheralded  Galway team has  arriving in CP.

This is Galway, the county who haven't won a match in Croke Park in 13 years? Very menacing alright...

Just my opinion.  Doesn't give me great  pleasure in saying that I think you will see  Galway  lifting Sam before Mayo do.
AIF v Donegal was Mayo's great chance I think and bar a calamitous goal conceded I think they would have won it.
Maybe it is tradition or the way they struck in 98 but Galway imvho anyway are always to be feared. Their  U21 winning teams have to surface at some stage.

[maigheo]

Jeez Canalman are you Colm o Rourke.You forgot to mention the great forwards that Galway have and that none of the Mayo forwards would get on the Galway team.

[Crete Boom]

Honestly think Galway will have a very big say in this year's championship.

For all Mayo's recent improvement and record in CP they will never imo anyway have the sense of menace that even a unheralded  Galway team has  arriving in CP.

I think if you said the menace an unheralded Galway team would bring into to a final compared to Mayo you would be probably bang on Canalman ( probably Monaghan/Kildare/Roscommon/Cavan/Derry/Down etc.... as well)!!

At the quarter final stage though (considering it's 13 years since they won a game in Croker at senior and most of the emerging teams (and lower end) would have little or no fear of playing them having had recent successes in league, championship and qualifiers home and away) teams would definitely fear Mayo more because of our results (Cork 2011 , Down & Dublin 2012 , Donegal & Tyrone 2013) in quarter or semi final games.

[Crete Boom]

Apologies to my Galway brethren for not congratulating you on a fine victory in London before getting involved in yet another genius Mayo are beyond useless despite it all argument !!It's onwards and upwards from now on for you.

Although I am not convinced by Mullholland I think it's good you have stayed the course with him to give yourselves some stability which was needed while trying to bed in such a large amount of new talent. Shane Walsh is potentially a class act too if he can find some consistency at this level.