Sport

Derry a tougher challenge than Armagh away - Paul Conroy

Galway skipper Paul Conroy with the ball against Armagh at the Athletic Grounds last Sunday. Picture by Colm O'Reilly
Galway skipper Paul Conroy with the ball against Armagh at the Athletic Grounds last Sunday. Picture by Colm O'Reilly Galway skipper Paul Conroy with the ball against Armagh at the Athletic Grounds last Sunday. Picture by Colm O'Reilly

DESPITE being handed home advantage, Galway football captain Paul Conroy reckons Derry will pose “a tougher challenge” to his team than last Sunday’s away trip to Armagh.

The Tribesmen deservedly defeated Kieran McGeeney’s men by 1-12 to 0-12 but the St James’ clubman feels that the Oak Leafers’ recent top level experience will have boosted them ahead of the game in Salthill this Saturday (5pm):

“Derry would probably be, I wouldn’t say a better side but probably a more in-form side than Armagh this year. It’s definitely going to be a tougher challenge.

“Derry are a team that’s on the rise, with some very good players. They drew with Tyrone and gave Dublin a hard game for long periods of that game. They’ve been playing Division One football whereas Armagh were playing Division Three football. It’s going to be a big difference.”

Conroy captained Galway to the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship title in the 2007 Final against Derry, but only he and defender Tomas Fahy are on the current senior squad, which has more players from the Tribesmen’s All-Ireland U21 winning teams of 2011 and 2013.

Of that Minor match, Conroy comments: “I remember a couple of the Derry lads, Chrissy McKaigue and James Kielt, although he’s not involved any more.”

Mention is made of Cailean O’Boyle, who played in midfield against Conroy back then, and the Galway skipper says: “He seems to have found a bit of form this year. Listen, Derry have some big players, Eoin Bradley is moving well, Mark Lynch as well, he’s in fine form too.”

Yet Galway are going well too, and Conroy acknowledged that winning on opposition soil in the qualifiers for the first time since their first ever such match in 2001 meant a lot to the team and their supporters:

“The last couple of years we’ve had wins in the qualifiers but they’d all been at home or in a neutral venue. I suppose an away win is a big thing, it’s been a good few years since Galway won away from home [outside the Connacht championship]…

“It was great to go up to the Athletic Grounds and come away with a win…albeit that we’ve a lot to work on and a short space of time to do it in.”

Still, playing Armagh should be good preparation for Galway given that the Orchardmen deploy a similar style to Derry, Conroy says: “You’d like to think it would: Armagh got a lot of bodies back behind the ball and I know Derry do the same, as a lot of teams do.”

Galway themselves did not score after the 49th minute in the Athletic Grounds, but Conroy insists that wasn’t for a lack of trying:

“I do know we had some good chances in the second half of the second half but we didn’t take them and that kinda left Armagh in the game a small bit. That’s an area we’ll be looking to improve on for Saturday.

“It was down to individuals, bad decision-making, shooting when it’s not on. We have to look back over that and rectify it for Saturday evening.”

Home advantage could help too, he accepts: “Fair play to the supporters, a big crowd came up the last day, it’s a nice trip up – but thankfully this weekend we got a home draw and hopefully that should stand to us, be a bit of an advantage.

“This year the support has been great, a great turn-out for the Mayo game so, please God, on Saturday evening a big crowd will turn out. I’ve no doubt that they will.

“Like any team you want to make it as hard as possible for the opposition coming there. We’ve a decent record in Salthill, although I wouldn’t say it’s unbelievable.”

That’s encouraging for Derry, but they’ll still be hard-pressed to record a first ever senior championship victory over Galway, having lost their two previous meetings in the All-Ireland semi-finals of 1998 and 2001.