Galway do enough to get past the challenge of limited rivals

Galway 3-11

Sligo 0-7

TWO goals in the space of 90 seconds in the second half ensured Galway saw off a feisty Sligo in an otherwise drab Connacht senior football championship semi-final played in front of an attendance of 5,365 at Markievicz Park on Sunday.

Following a cagey opening period — after which Galway led 0-5 to 0-3 — Kevin Walsh’s charges finally picked the necessary holes in the home side’s defence in the third quarter, with man of the match Liam Silke and wing-forward Johnny Heaney netting goals on 43 and 44 minutes respectively.

In each case, the goals came off high presses on Sligo kickouts and it underlined the damage the Tribesmen can do when they overturn opposition possession further up the field. What was also notable was that the two goalscorers were also to the fore in initiating the move — with both coming from deep to get the final touch.

No doubt, Galway boss Walsh will be pleased with the manner in which those goals were created — albeit, there was an element of good fortune in Heaney’s with the ball rebounding to him off the post — and the structure of the attacks in those instances.

Other than that, however, this level of performance would not be good enough to dismiss a fellow Division 1 team, like Mayo. Granted, Galway are down bodies at the moment, none least injured captain Damien Comer, but the Tribesmen should be making shorter work of the likes of London and Sligo.

Admittedly, it cannot be easy for Galway to get themselves up for these games against teams from the lower divisions but the concern would be, that after their opening two championship ties, they have showed little enough to suggest they will be a threat to Dublin’s aspirations of five-in-a-row.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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