Messages

I think it's probably a good call starting the same 15. Agreed that Army will be disappointed after his display off the bench in Carrick.
I'd be of the opinion though that he is the ideal man to come in off the bench. If one of the starting forwards is having an off day he could come on and do damage.Every time I've seen him come on as a sub for Galway he has done well and got a few scores.
I'm assuming the fact that he's a man that can make a big impact off the bench is a big factor in him not starting the next day - some of the other forwards would not make the same impact off the bench as Army invariably does in my opinion.

Does anyone have the minor team for Sunday?

I was at the Galway v Sligo minor game on Sunday and after seeing how our lads performed I'm convinced Ros will beat us in the final. To say we were lucky to win in the end would be an understatement.
Mulholland doesn't convince me as a manager. Similar to games last year,Galway completely lost their shape in the 2nd half on Sunday.At certain times there wasn't a single Galway forward inside the Sligo 40 metre line. That meant that every time a back or midfielder got the ball he would look up and have no target to aim at,so we ended up with a series of aimless passes which invariably ended up with posession being surrendered to Sligo.
It was all so different in the first 20 minutes, as we raced 7-1 up.Galway were playing really well at that stage and some of the moves leading to these scores were a joy to watch.They could have tagged a few goals onto this score as well.
The 2nd half was completely one way traffic though. Sligo got on top and the Galway midfield collapsed completely.If Ros have a strong midfield pairing then Galway are doomed. They won virtually no possession from kick-outs in the entire second half.O'Griofa from Lettermore came on towards the end at midfield and made a big difference to us. It's hard to believe also that Danny Cummins from Claregalway who was Jarlaths top scorer from play this year, can't even make the panel not to mind the starting 15.

I'd advise people to get down to the bookies and get on Ros for the final. As a Galway supporter it gives me no pleasure to say that but I honestly believe that it is a poor Galway team - one of the poorest Galway minor teams in a long time and I've seen them all over the past 15 years or so - and they will be found out on Sunday week.
That was some win for Ros on Saturday.Any day you can outscore Mayo by 12 scores to 6 in minor championship is a good days work.

This is turning into a club v county debate and not gaa vs soccer.
Personally on the first point, while I'd also be a huge Galway fan and rarely miss a game for the footballers, my local club would definitely come first. I've played football for my local club for the last 20 years and nothing would mean more to me personally than to win something with my club - I've won very little over the years, the last being an u-21 B title 8 or 9 years ago. I've also been involved in coaching/managing a few underage teams in the club a few years ago so I would be hugely loyal to the club and support all teams from under 10 upwards in their games.

On the second point - soccer is pretty popular where I come (rural Galway) from but gaelic football is still more popular and there would be a lot more players/mentors involved in the gaa club than the soccer club.
I personally am a member of the soccer club as well and play both sports still,as I find soccer a very enjotable to sport to play and it keeps me fit over the winter. I would also probably consider myself to be a better soccer player than gaelic player.
I wouldn't watch a local junior soccer game in a fit though if I wasn't playing.It can be very boring to watch whereas I'd watch gaelic football any day of the week at any level.

I reckon as some previous poster said, soccer is probaly more popular in urban centres whereas gaa is more popular in rural areas.

Paul Clancy has been playing for his club since the start of the season (around mid-March).
As far as I know he's retired from county football now.
This is a big pity as he has a lot to offer Galway in the half forward line. Last year against Westmeath was not the real Clancy - he should not have been playing that day as he was not fit.

As for Sunday - Galway should win. We have better players and would expect to win against a side like Leitrim. They will undoubtedly put it up to us but it would be a big shock if we were to lose this one.
They gave us a very good game in Pearse Stadium 2 years ago where we went into a decent lead but almost got pegged back towards the end. Declan Maxwell was very impressive at full forward that day if memory serves me correctly.

In fairness that Green & Red Of Mayo SawDoctors song is quality. Fairly inspiring I'd say.
Anyway, will be heading off to Salthill in a while myself and I don't think I've looked forward to a game as much in a long long time.
Am hoping Gaillimh can do the business but am more hopeful than confident.
Come on the Tribesmen!!

I heard on gbfm that the new Galway football jersey is being launched in the Claregalway hotel tonight. Anyone have a pic of it?
Also, does anyone know if they can be bought tonight at the venue? Someone told me a few days ago that it won't be on sale in the shops for a few weeks.

This is a very tight one to call and it's also very hard to predict how both sides will line out.
If I was O'Mahoney I'd put Heaney on Joyce or if he was willing to move O'Malley in from the corner I'd put O'Malley on him as he looks a fine defender.
Heaney has done quite well on Joyce over the years, though Padraig has played well himself a number of times against Mayo.
From a Galway point of view I'd be delighted to see Kilcullen at full back as I think Padraig could roast him.

The form of Mikey Meehan is one of my biggest worries for Sunday though. He's failed to get on the scoresheet since coming back into the team towards the end of the league and has missed Galway's most recent challenge matches as well as the first 2 rounds of the club senior league through injury.
It's plainly obvious that playing in the corner doesn't suit him.He's not the quickest and a central position would suit him much more.He tends to get bottled up a bit when played in the corner. If Joyce drifts during the game as he tends to do then they should immediately put Mikey in at full forward. He would be much more of a threat from there than stuck out in the corner.

By my reckoning the goalie and 5 of the backs are certs(Doherty, Fitzy,Hanly,Damo Burke in fb line & Dec Meehan and Coyne in hb line).
Bergin is a cert at midfield while the 2 Joyces, Mike Meehan and Bane are certain to start up front.

Blake and Coleman are also certs to start in my book. The only question is where. I'd have Blake at number 6, but it's possible he'll be named at midfield again.
Coleman will start either at midfield or wing forward to help out midfield.
That leaves Comer & Sice to fight out for a wing back spot if Blake is started at midfield.
If Blake is at no.6 then Cullinane, Ja or Coleman will start at midfield.

The remaining forward places will be between Ja,Savo,Matt Clancy and Fiachra Breathnach (assuming Armstrong is out through injury).

For what it's worth my team would be...
Doherty
Fitzy
Hanley (I have my doubts about Finian though)
D Burke
Meehan
Blake
Coyne
Bergin
Cullinane
Coleman
Ja
Bane
Meehan (to move to 14 when Joyce moves out)
P Joyce
N Joyce

I'm still unsure about that team I've named above though as the half forward line lacks something.

Msgr Horan - Galway are playing the Dubs in a challenge in Westmanstown on Bank holiday Monday May 7th at 2:30pm.

Personally, I don't believe Kilcullen will make the cut at full back for Mayo for the Galway game. He has looked very vulnerable any time I have seen him in the league.
I have a sneaking feeling David Heaney will be picked at number 3 with a view to taming Joyce. He has a decent record against Joyce so I think Johnno will play him there.

As regards the Galway team, keeper will be Doherty as we don't have any alternative (he is extremely dodgy though), FB line will be Fitzy, Hanley & Damo Burke.
HB line will probably be Deccie Meehan at 5, Blake at 6 and Coyne at 7 (with Comer losing out).
Midfield will be Bergin & AN Other. We don't have too many options here either. It'll be Cullinane, Geraghty or Ja Fallon I'd say to partner Joe.
I think the FF line will be Mike Meehan, PJ and Nicky Joyce. Coleman will be named at wing forward and will be helping out around midfield. He can be a bit headless at times and his distribution needs working on but we need his workrate and aggression around the field.

The other 2 spots are up for grabs between Bane, Savo, Armstrong, Matt Clancy and Ja (if he's not played at midfield).
Bane should get 1 of these positions as he's been scoring well while the other spot is anyone's guess. Savo hasn't been playing that well and hasn't been scoring much and neither has Ja. Armstrong has been injured and is more of a full forward line player.

It's possible though that Nicky will be played on the wing which would mean either Armstrong or Savo playing at no.15.

I thought it was a poor game overall. As almost everyone else has said the ref was brutal. Possibly the worst I have ever seen. It seemed that almost every time a foul was committed, regardless of the seriousness of the foul, a yellow card was produced.
I do think the 2nd yellow card that Boyle got for the sending off was justified as he went in with a sliding tackle and took the Laois lads out - he was going for the ball alright but you can't slide in like that in gaelic football and not expect to be punished for it.
He should never have been booked in the first half though - he committed a foul but there's no way it warranted a yellow card.
Having said that, knowing that he was on a yellow, the sliding tackle for the sending off was very foolish.

I thought the Laois number 11 Craig Rogers was very good, as was number 13 while Donie Brennan won a lot of ball and looked dangerous but kicked a few terrible wides. At times he seemed to have a go from impossible angles and distances.
It's hard to pick out many Mayo players who played up to standard.
I think Cork will win the AI - they had a good side last year and seem to have a lot of that team available again.

Should be a good game tomorrow.Tough one to call but Mayo's form has been more consistent than Galway's.
Even though we've won our last 5 games we haven't played really well in any of the games.
If we were playing in 1A we wouldn't have been allowed get away with this as the teams in 1A were far superior.
I have a few worries about Galway at the moment. Midfield is a huge worry. We've struggled in all our games in this sector this year.
Blake is a good player but as another contributor said, he doesn't have the height to win ball here at county level. He is a quality centre back though, although he lacks pace and can be in trouble if he's turned as he doesn't have the pace to recover.
I've never been a fan of Geraghty and he is just too limited as a footballer for me. Cullinane isn't great either but has more potential than Geraghty and can be very good on his day. Bergin isn't the greatest ballwinner in the world but is very mobile and is good at kicking scores (as Mayo could testify after the Connacht final in 2003 where he kicked 4 or 5 points from play from midfield). If we had a player like Kevin Walsh available now, he and Bergin would be the ideal pairing.

The sideline is another worry. Johnno is the best in the business IMHO. If anybody can bring Sam to Mayo it's Johnno.I don't have much faith in Ford or his sideline team to be honest and Mayo definitely have a big advantage here.

Also, our forwards haven't performed this year on a consistent basis. I think we are lightweight up front and would not win enough ball against a tough, hard-tackling backline. Even Joyce and Meehan can struggle to win ball against a tight marking defence. Mike Meehan has been poor so far since returning and hopefully he can play his way into form before the championship. The half forwards have been poor as well. Nicky Joyce has been scoring well but again is liable to lose the ball in contact against tough tackles.

To those who haven't seen much of Damien Burke I also would say that he is a fine defender. I've seen a lot of him since underage and he seems to have got better as he's got older. Although her's not particularly tall,he's very physically strong and is quite quick. He was mainly a half back at minor and under 21 level but has now developed into our main man marker in the full back line. He'll have his hands full with Conor Mort though who is on fire at the moment.
In the Westmeath game last year Burke cleaned Dessie Dolan and kept him scoreless from play.

Overall I think Mayo may win tomorrow but I would not be surprised at all if Galway came out on top as they are always capable of beating Mayo regardless of how they've playing and regardless of the supposed strengths of either side (the same is true of Mayo in this regard).

Anyway, here's hoping it's a good, hard, clean game regardless. May 20th is the one we want though. Gaillimh abu!!

Good win for the lads yesterday. By all accounts we're still not playing that well even though we have been winining games.
Duine Eile, I wasn't at the game but was Bane really that bad? I was listening to it on GBFM and he kicked 3 points from play which isn't a bad days work.
Mike Meehan hasn't scored any points in his last 2 games so hopefully this is only a temporary blip and he'll back playing like we all know he can soon.

I hope Peter Ford brings Fitzy back into the starting team before the championship. He's a far superior corner back to Alan Burke. Midfield is a big worry to me. Bergin and Cullinane are the best we have but are very hot and cold and we do not have any options for this sector on the bench.
Paul Geraghty isn't county standard to me and he's the only substitute midfielder on the panel as far as I can see which is a worry.

I was at the game in Perase today. Good lively game. It sounds strange given that it was a 7 point defeat but this game was really there for the taking by Galway.
Galway started without senior players Brian Faherty and Sean Armstrong.Armstrong in particular was a huge loss and I think his absence was the deciding factor.
Galway dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half and really should have been ahead going into the last 5 or 10 minutes. They missed 2 glorious goal chances in this period. From the second effort which came back off the crossbar, mayo went straight up the field for a point. Faherty's replacement gary O'Donnell was poor. He is clearly not a forward yet was played wing forward.
Cathal Kenny who was Armstrong's replacement was actually our best forward in the end alongside Breathnach.
Fiachra Breathnach and Paul Gleeson were both absolutely outstanding today. Breathnach gave Colm Boyle a roasting. Cillian Bane and Greg Higgins also did pretty well.

Fair play to Mayo for weathering the storm in the second half and tacking on 4 or 5 points at the end to finish the game off.
Their midfielders and centre back were all very strong in the air and won a lot of possession.
Barry Moran was outstanding and his runs forward caused us all sorts of trouble and let to a lot of Mayo scores.

This is a very difficult one to call. I would disregard the Leitrim as they were hopeless and we've seen that from previous years in minor that big wins over Leitrim or Sligo or Ros don't mean anything anything in a Connacht final between Galway and Mayo.
3 years ago at minor level Galway won by 2 points with a goal and a point in injury time from Brian Faherty and Alan Glynn but in truth Mayo should have been out the gate by then as they totally dominated the game but hadn't got their shooting boots on. Mayo should be very strong as the likes of Mark Ronaldson, Colm Boyle, Aidan O'Shea, Barry Moran, Kenneth O'Malley etc are available again this year.
Expectations aren't great in Galway for this team as there are very few players that stand out as potential seniors unlike previous years. Sean Armstrong has already made the senior championship team but I don't see many more from this team capable of doing the same - possibly Gareth Bradshaw from Moycullen who plays wing back for the u-21s but that's about it.
I'd tip Mayo on the basis that they should have more quality than us. There's more of their lads capable of making as county seniors and this should swing it their way.

Just heard the sad news of the passing of Mairead Meehan, sister of Galway footballers Deccie & Michael and former players Tomas & Noel and girlfriend of current player Kieran Fitzgerald.
She was in her in her 20s and had been ill for some time as far as I know.

Sincerest condolences to the Meehan family and all in Caltra GAA from a fellow club footballer.