Galway and Mayo set for latest high octane battle as league hits crucial juncture

DERBY-Day approaches for Galway and Mayo and, as ever, this one carries significant weight – they always do.

The Tribesmen clash with their Connacht rivals in the fifth round of the Allianz football league in Castlebar on Saturday night (throw-in 7.15pm).

The game serves as the headline act on the bill, with the duel between the Galway and Mayo ladies footballers kicking-off proceedings at 5.15pm in an attractive double-header sure to draw in a fine crowd.

Coming in off the back of defeats to Kerry and Dublin, in last weekend’s fourth round, both Kevin Walsh and James Horan will be eager to see their sides return to winning ways and continue to push towards the top two, moving further away from relegation all the while.

Mayo find themselves two points better off than the Tribesmen in that regard. Last Saturday’s disappointing defeat against the Dubs in Croke Park proved a reality check for Horan’s side having made their best start to a league campaign in recent memory with maximum points from their first three games.

That defeat to Dublin saw Mayo surrender top spot in the league table to Kerry, who fired two late points in response to a tonic Danny Cummins goal to earn a 0-14 to 1-10 victory over Galway in Tuam Stadium.

The injection of youth in the Mayo set-up this year in Brian Reape, Fionn McDonagh, Conor Diskin, Michael Plunkett and Ciaran Treacy – all of whom have shown up well at different stages in the league to date – has been a welcome boost to the squad.

For the Tribesmen, the return of Sean Andy Ó Ceallaigh and Michael Daly to the starting 15, as well as long-term injury victim Eamon Brannigan, who was named among the replacements, must have come as a huge plus to Walsh and his management team.

“Yea that’s a boost and just to get a bit more ball played now,” the Galway manager began. “Maybe some lads haven’t as much ball played as we’d like but at least they’re getting the training behind them now.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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