Tribesman tough it out in difficult conditions to maintain mastery over Mayo

THREE wins from five sees the Galway footballers sitting comfortably in a tie for second in the Allianz football league Division 1 table following Saturday night’s impressive victory over Mayo in Castlebar.

A tremendous final quarter display into the gale-force wind was key in fending off a spirited Mayo revival in front of 10,675 passionate fans who braved the elements to see these two age-old rivals go at it once again.

The win lifts Galway level on points with Mayo and Dublin in the table, four adrift of runaway leaders Kerry and in with a chance of a place in another league final, but that’s not what this spring has been about for Galway.

At the start of the campaign, anyone who mentioned the prospect of a league final could only have been described as foolish given the litany of injuries and absentees the Tribesmen were faced with.

Survival was the primary goal and hard-fought victories in Inniskeen, Castlebar and Pearse Stadium against Cavan have ensured Galway are all but assured of that, while the unearthing of young talents John Daly and Antaine Ó Laoí has been a major plus, something particularly pleasing for team manager Kevin Walsh.

“That (win) probably just takes a bit of pressure off on the bottom of the table. “It’s important that the younger lads that are getting their chances now are stepping up and one or two were really impressive out there today.

“If we can give can give those boys the chances and not stick to the old guard all the time, even long after I’m gone, that can be a positive,” he added.

It certainly can and getting game time into as many players as possible, with front-liners like Damien Comer, Paul Conroy, Ian Burke, Declan Kyne and Sean Kelly to come back into the side in the coming weeks and months can only bode well for the championship.

Eamon Brannigan came off the bench to make his first appearance of the season on Saturday night in a further boost to Walsh and his management team ahead of the arrival of Roscommon to Salthill on Saturday week.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.