The Galway Senior Football Championship heats up this weekend when Maigh Cuilinn play Mountbellew/Moylough and Corofin are up against Milltown in the semi-finals.
Milltown have surprised many this year with their performances, while the other semi-finalists have all enjoyed successful footballing years in recent times.
Reigning champions Maigh Cuilinn will play Mountbellew/Moylough in Pearse Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 3.30pm. Having defeated Val Daly’s side in 2020 and 2022 to win their two county titles, the impressive Maigh Cuilinn will be confident in reaching their third final in four years.
Having been largely untroubled in the group stage, Don Connellan’s side faced a much stiffer test against Salthill/Knocknacarra two weekends ago, and they needed two injury-time points to come out the right side of a one point win.
The addition of Johnny Moloney to Maigh Cuilinn has added plenty of experience to a team already loaded with intercounty talent, while Dessie Conneely is once again topping the scoring charts for his side. His consistency over the dead ball is matched only by his opponent Barry McHugh, who is continuing to impress on the club stage.
Mountbellew/Moylough’s form has dropped off a bit since halfway through the group stage when they were already pretty much guaranteed progression to the quarter-final.
After drawing with Dunmore MacHales before losing to Tuam Stars, they had to dig deep to beat a rejuvenated St James’ side, and they will need to show a big improvement if they are to win on Saturday.
John Daly has been his side's best player. Playing in midfield, he is the playmaker and their second top scorer with 0-12 after the five games.
The biggest boost to the 2021 champions this year has been the return of Michael Daly after more than a year out injured. The former Galway player has not seen as much game time as he would have liked, but he has scored when coming on against St Michael’s, Tuam Stars and St James’. With more to offer and more game time under his belt, Daly will be hoping to have a bigger say in this weekend’s game and help his side achieve an overdue win against Maigh Cuilinn.
The second semi-final takes place in Tuam on Sunday afternoon with North Board rivals Corofin and Milltown playing at 3.30pm.
Corofin have done what has been expected of them this year in reaching the semi-final without too much fuss, but what has been impressive are the performances of the younger players who have forced their way onto the team while Corofin also have been able to introduce their bench, most notably against Tuam in the quarter-final.
Brian Cogger, Patrick Egan and Jack McCabe were all part of the Galway U20 squad this year, while Glenn McHugh has impressed whenever he has played. Ross Mahon and Liam Silke have returned to the team with some impressive performances after spending time abroad for the 2022 season, but Ian Burke and Jason Leonard are both currently abroad. However, the Farraghers, Michael Lundy and Ronan Steede have all returned from either injury or travel respectively.
Kevin Johnson has been forced to deal with a large turnover of players as a result for the past two seasons, but he appears to have achieved the right balance this year and now has created a real chance to get his side back into a county final after last year’s quarter final loss.
In the opposite dugout a Corofin man stands in his way. Justin Burke is currently doing a very impressive job coaching Milltown. Playing a lovely style of football, and utilising Michael Martin’s accuracy, Milltown are extremely enjoyable to watch and were effective in their play against Claregalway.
Corofin are hot favourites for this game, which will suit Milltown down to the ground as they will be hoping to spring a surprise and reach their first county final since 2007.
Elsewhere in senior football relegation this weekend Killannin will play An Spideal in the Prairie at 1pm on Saturday, while Leitir Mor will play St Michael's in An Spideal at 3.30pm.
