Galway continued their recent dominance over Tyrone with a deserved win in Omagh last Sunday. Despite just winning by 1 point, 1-10 to 0-12 Galway were certainly the better and more composed team in the second half. Following a slip pass from league debutant Rory Cunningham, Cathal Sweeney's fine strike proved to be the decisive score of the game.
Galway’s grit, fight and determination were brought into question after the Mayo encounter. Their resolve improved greatly against Roscommon and was far better again facing Brian Dooher’s side. It will need to further improve if they are to trouble a Derry side that have so far strolled through their three league games, remaining the only side in division 1 with a 100% record.
Galway were handed a huge boost on Thursday evening when talismanic captain Seán Kelly returned to the squad. His 20 minute cameo will greatly help his return to full fitness. Despite the highs of welcoming Kelly back for his first game since October's county semi-final, the injury curse struck again with Paul Conroy not returning for the second half. Matthew Tierney also injured himself while taking a free.
Joyce showed how much he expects of his players when he was interviewed by TG4 after the match. He understood that the goal was the key turning point of the game, "especially after missing two handy frees that Rob and Mattie should be scoring".
He also alluded to the fact that Sweeney should have scored a second goal when he had the opportunity to go around Morgan in goal. Joyce also insisted that his team "hadn’t gone all out for the league in 2023, ‘to be honest we didn't actually go all out in the league last year. We actually stumbled into the final by default really. Because we had only one point out of two games as well last year."
While bemoaning his side picking up two more injuries in an already depleted squad, Joyce was eager not to dwell on it for too long, explaining that it is testing the squad's depth and giving other players a lot of chances. Céin D'Arcy is back in the squad which also includes Rory Cunningham, Cillian Ó Curraoin and Liam Ó Conghaile who have all made their league debuts this season. This has given players like Niall Daly deserved chances throughout the league, while Seán Ó Maoilchiaráin and Kieran Molloy have also been welcomed back from long term injuries.
With Conroy and all his experience leaving the field at half time, Galway needed players to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Nobody did that more than Killannin’s Johnny Heaney who scored two wonderful points and got through an incredible amount of work for his side. He deservedly won man of the match. Heaney’s massive work-rate for his county has often gone under the radar and he has been an unsung hero for several years, but when he was needed most he stood tall and was a huge part of why Galway won the game.
Galway now welcome Mickey Harte’s in-form Derry to Pearse Stadium on Sunday afternoon with throw in at 1.45pm. With Conroy and Tierney both looking unlikely to participate in the game, Joyce must now find someone to replace the duo’s influence around the middle of the field. Galway will need to disrupt Derry's seemingly unflappable duo of Conor Glass and Brendan Rogers, while also keeping Shane McGuigan quiet if the Tribesmen are to get anything from this game.
