After a disappointing result against Roscommon in the FBD final Galway now face into a league opener against old rivals Mayo in Pearse stadium this coming Sunday at 1.45pm.
A much stronger Roscommon side defeated Galway easily in the Connacht GAA dome last Friday evening but there were a few performances over across the two games from the development squad that will have excited manager Padraic Joyce, most notably Liam Boyle and Cillian O Curraoin who scored 16 points across the two games. A number of the players from the development squad will now be expected to make the move up to the main panel weekends game.
Having not played any of the first team squad for the pre season games Joyce will hope that his players are fresh for the challenge against Kevin McStay’s side who will be led by their new captain Paddy Durcan. Galway look to be without the services of captain Seán Kelly and the returning Liam Silke for their opening games but other than that appear to have a clean bill of health heading into another tough league campaign. Home games against Mayo, Derry and Dublin and away games vs Roscommon, Tyrone, Monaghan and Kerry should tell a lot about Galway’s chances when championship football comes around in April.
Galway drew with Mayo in the opening round of league fixtures in 2023 but then lost in both the league final and the preliminary quarter final which ended their championship hopes prematurely. Last seasons league opener in Castlebar was salvaged for Mayo with a last gasp point from Ryan O Donoghue who is also playing for University of Galway on Tuesday evening.
Competitive football early in the year is almost always wet and windy but when the Pearse Stadium elements are added to this then this weekends game could very easily be a game of two halves to the extreme. A lot of the games during this competitive league campaign will be decided on which team best combats the weather but anything can happen when Galway play Mayo.
Not many changes are expected in the Galway squad this year but the return of Silke from travelling and the fit again Kieran Molloy are two boosts that will delight manager Padraic Joyce as he hopes to drive his team to an improved season. Each year managers must freshen up their teams with new talent and the performances of Boyle and O Curraoin will have encouraged a manager that has proved he has no fear throwing players in at the deep end as he did with O Curraoin last summer.
Both managers are expected to name strong sides for a league campaign so competitive that there won’t be any second chances. Derry and Roscommon have set their stall out with strong teams for their pre season competition. Tyrone and Monaghan are always very tough away games and with Galway playing Dublin and Kerry in the last two league games both sides will be almost at full strength again by the time these games are played in March.
Galway’s season will not depend on this weekends result but a good start to the year could go a long way on building confidence for a long season ahead.
