Galway pay the price for poor start to second half against title holders

GALWAY hopes of causing an upset in the Connacht senior football championship semi-final at Pearse Stadium on Sunday were wiped away in a helter-skelter opening to the second half.

Mayo’s intent was clear from the restart. They emerged from the dressing room several minutes before Galway and were warming up collectively with sprints between half-way and their ‘45.

Man-of-the-match Aidan O’Shea all too easily shouldered Fintan Ó Curraoin out of the way to win the throw-in. He fed inrushing colleague Diarmuid O’Connor, and wing-back Seán Denvir had no choice but to foul. Marksman Cillian O’Connor – who scored nine points in total, eight frees – converted.

Mayo meant business. Then came the howler goal. Mayo won the kick-out and Aidan O’Shea went bursting forward. The Breaffy man was dispossessed by a combination of Cathal Sweeney and Denvir tracking back, and the ball spilled free in front of the goalmouth.

A rush of blood to the head of goalkeeper Manus Breathnach led to him fly-hacking the ball rather than going down to gather it. The ball bounced back off full-back Finian Hanley and into the net for an own-goal.

It seemed to happen in slow-motion – one of those occasions when you’re simultaneously cursing and feeling huge sympathy for the ‘keeper.

Two minutes, two scores, and Galway were still mentally in the dressing room. The body language then suggested Galway was beaten. Mayo tagged on two more points and all of a sudden the mole-hill became a mountain – 1-11 to 1-5.

Shellshocked Galway were forced to chase the game. To their credit, Kevin Walsh’s men didn’t collapse. They were right back in the mix when Danny Cummins palmed to the net after the quick-thinking Damien Comer took a fast free to Cathal Sweeney who put Peadar Óg Ó Gríofa in the clear and his pass was expertly finished to the net by the Claregalway corner-forward.

And then Gary Sice – who scored an absolute screamer of a goal in the first half which gave the home fans hope – slotted over a free to reduce the deficit to just two points, 2-7 to 1-12, with 15 minutes remaining. The optimism was short-lived, however. Mayo, the auld dog for the hard road, immediately wrested control of the match with a brace of quick-fire points.

The jammy goal was critical but Mayo was still the better team. Galway failed to get to grips with one of the country’s finest footballers, Aidan O’Shea, whose physicality and athleticism had Hanley in trouble. Even though a couple of scoreable frees awarded against Galway were dubious, the home team required more discipline at the back.

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