Mulholland has something stirring in Galway football

Date Published: 24-May-2012

 THE first tangible signs that something might be stirring in Galway football in 2012 came in the county’s concluding National League encounter against Kildare in April at Pearse Stadium. That was a high stakes match and though the Tribesmen didn’t get what they were looking for – a place in the Division Two final and a shot at promotion –they were the moral victors against the Lilywhites who are generally regarded as the biggest threat to Kerry, Cork and Dublin in the All-Ireland championship.

Something happened that day which indicated that Galway had the capacity to step up markedly on recent undistinguished championship campaigns. They had looked in grave trouble at the interval when trailing by four points having played with the wind, but the home team were so transformed on the resumption that Johnny Doyle had to net an injury time penalty for Kildare to salvage a draw.

New team manager Alan Mulholland would naturally have been disappointed with the result in the immediate aftermath of that contest, but he could have no complaints about the quality second-half performance which often had Kildare chasing shadows.

Galway had been in a hole at half-time, yet the players showed no shortage of resolve and commitment – characteristics which have been in short supply over the past few seasons – in turning the match around.

Curiously, against that background, there was nearly more hype about Roscommon in the build up to last Sunday’s Connacht first round collision at Hyde Park. Some pundits actually tipped Des Newtown’s squad to win and most neutrals anticipated that they would at least provide Galway with a searching examination.

Under-age football in the county was vibrant and their U-21s had lost to Dublin with a great deal of honour in the recent All-Ireland final.

Furthermore, Roscommon are generally rugged opponents and in front of their home supporters, they were expected to tear into the men in maroon. Ultimately, however, they proved a massive let-down in collapsing to a 14 point defeat.

Their traditional fire was conspicuous by its absence; they lacked Galway’s conditioning and fluency; and committed a string of unforced errors which ensured the match was well and truly over by half-time.

Frankly, Roscommon were a shambles and with heavy hitters up front, Senan Kilbride and the disappointing Donal Shine making little impact, it’s no wonder they failed to emerge from Division Three league football this spring.

Only substitute David O’Gara and centre forward, Cathal Cregg, for a brief spell coming up to half-time, made any real headway on a chastening day for Roscommon football in front of a somewhat disappointing crowd of less than 13,000.

Though it’s against the opposition’s poverty we have to measure this vibrant Galway display, it was still a hugely encouraging effort from the province’s most successful county. Their direct tactics on the day served the team well, while the general cohesiveness and movement around the field made Roscommon appear out of their depth for long stretches. There was no shortage of energy either with Man of the Match Paul Conroy certainly adding to a growing reputation in causing havoc at full forward.

Conroy not alone finished the game with 1-4 to his credit, he also delivered the vital pass for Mark O’Hehir’s expertly taken 11th minute goal and repeatedly underlined his ability to secure primary possession. Galway have been lacking a consistent target man up front for a long time, but the talented St. James’ player is certainly giving them a new dimension on a day defender Gareth Bradshaw, typically, advanced to pick off a couple of points, and Michael Meehan underlined what the team has been missing over the past two to three years.

In fact, Meehan’s introduction and his subsequent vitality was arguably the most heart-warming feature of Galway’s demolition job. The Caltra clubman has been to hell and back in admirably trying to get the better of a career-threatening ankle injury, and though lesser men would have thrown in the towel, he bravely soldiered through many dark days and, hopefully, will now be able to resurrect what had been a great career.

The big challenge for Mulholland now is to keep expectations in check. Supporters will naturally be talking up Galway over the coming weeks, but caution is advised given how bad Roscommon were. Sure, it was a most heartening effort, will prove a huge lift to the squad’s confidence and bodes well for the stiffer tests coming down the road, but the players surely need no reminding that routing what, after all was a Division Three outfit, must be kept in perspective.