Football

Battle to remember likely as Roscommon host Galway

Paul Conroy has returned to the Galway starting line-up for tomorrow's Connacht final
Paul Conroy has returned to the Galway starting line-up for tomorrow's Connacht final Paul Conroy has returned to the Galway starting line-up for tomorrow's Connacht final

Connacht SFC Final: Roscommon v Galway (tomorrow, Dr Hyde Park, 4pm, live on RTE1)

RIVALRY, history, form, confidence, quality and a full house… All the ingredients are there for a Championship battle to remember as Roscommon and Galway renew hostilities tomorrow.

Including a replay two years ago, this is the fourth consecutive provincial final meeting between these Connacht giants and the spread of results over the last two years illustrates how little there has been between them.

In 2016, there was a hard-fought draw in Salthill and then an 11-point win for Galway in the Castlebar rematch. Last season the pendulum swung 20 points towards the Rossies who returned to Salthill and emerged nine-point winners, dethroning the reigning champions and getting their hands on the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time since 2010.

This year Roscommon have home advantage but they remain the outsiders with the bookies who have made Galway 4/9 favourites. That price has been set because of the Tribesmen’s eye-catching run in Division One which saw them go unbeaten and run Dublin close in the final.

Kevin Walsh’s side has brought that form into the Championship and saw off auld enemy Mayo at the quarter-final stage before hammering Sligo 4-24 to 1-12 to book their place in this decider.

Meanwhile, Roscommon, the Division Two champions, have form on their side too and their 0-24 to 0-10 win over Leitrim a fortnight ago was their sixth victory on-the-trot.

Consistency is the hallmark of both sides now. Last year, Galway alternated between blowing teams away and being well beaten themselves. Walsh’s men conceded 2-15 against Roscommon in last year’s final, then bounced back to hammer Donegal before fluffing their lines again in conceding 1-18 to Kieran Donaghy-inspired Kerry in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Meanwhile, free-scoring Roscommon were mighty impressive in their run through Connacht and for the first quarter of their All-Ireland quarter-final against Mayo.

Goals from Fintan Cregg and Ciaran Murtagh had them seven points ahead, but they needed a Donie Smith free to force a replay but they failed to turn up for it and Mayo cantered to a 4-19 to 0-9 win.

So, after disappointment in Dublin last year, both sides added defensive solidity to their make-up this season.

Galway have conceded less than 13 points per game and only Monaghan (in the League) and Sligo (Championship) have managed to get the ball past Rory Lavelle.

You’d expect that there would be a price to pay for that Paddy Tally designed defensive stitching and Galway went four games without a goal at the end of the League before finding their form once again in the Championship with five in two games.

Former Roscommon skipper Niall Carty has been impressed by their progress this year.

“You’d have to say that Galway have improved more than Roscommon over the last year,” said Carty, a veteran of the 2016 campaign.

“Going on League form you’d have to make them favourites with the way they’ve been playing. They have got better, they have a good system and they bring a real physical edge to it.

“But it’s been very competitive over the last three years and I don’t expect anything different this weekend.”

Both sides have talented scoring forwards, but it is highly unlikely that Galway will stray too far from the counter-attacking approach that saw them past Mayo in that low-scoring quarter-final duel and so Roscommon will have to match-up and play a similar style.

“The strength of Roscommon over the past two or three years is the forwards,” said Carty.

“The two Murtaghs (Ciaran and Diarmuid), Donie Smith, who had a great League campaign, Cathal Cregg has been coming into games with his pace and scoring threat. A lot of mobility in the forwards and while they are there you still have the possibilty of a shoot-out.

“But when you’re playing against a defensive team and you go out and play your normal game you can get caught on the counter. Roscommon will shape up in a similar way and it’ll be very interesting to see how it plays out tactically.”

As a former midfielder, perhaps it’s not surprising that Carty picks out the battle in centrefield as the key to winning and losing this game. Both teams will press up, there’ll be no giving up the kick-outs and Galway have Paul Conroy fit and he will partner Thomas Flynn against the Roscommon duo Cathal Compton and Tadgh O’Rourke. Every breaking ball will be furiously contested.

“The middle of the field is going to be important,” said Carty.

“Roscommon have two young lads in midfield and Galway has Conroy back in the team which is a big plus for them. I think the middle of the field will be important.”

As defending champions on home soil, Roscommon will approach the game “quietly confident” says Carty, but he is concerned that the memory of last year’s humiliating loss will drive Galway on.

“We’re quietly confident, although Galway are favourites and rightly so,” he said.

“They have been the form team over the last four or five months and they have the hurt from last year which is always a good thing to have on your side.

“We’re quietly confident but if Galway show up we’ll need to be at the top of our game.”

Galway manager Walsh has made one change to his side. Conroy will partner Thomas Flynn at midfield, with Peter Cooke making way.

Meanwhile, Ciaran Lennon (broken thumb) is the only player unavailable to Rossie boss Kevin McStay. Dr Hyde Park is a sell-out and, if it wasn’t, there would be alarm bells ringing in Croke Park.

This should be an engrossing spectacle between two quality sides who bring form, confidence, rivalry and huge support to the final. Don’t expect a free-flowing shoot-out from the throw-in because this is a game that will be decided late in the final quarter and the side that holds its nerve should get over the line.

After their success in Division One this year and with the pain of 2017 spurring them on, that will be Galway.

Roscommon: C Lavin; D Murray, P Domican, N McInerney; J McManus, F Cregg, B Stack; C Compton, T O’Rourke; C Murtagh, E Smith, C Devaney; D Smith, D Murtagh, N Kilroy

Galway: R Lavelle; D Kyne, SA O'Ceallaigh, D Wynee; C Sweeney, G Bradshaw, S Kelly; P Conroy, T Flynn; E Brannigan, S Walsh, J Heaney; I Burke, D Comer, B McHugh

Paths to the final:

Galway

Quarter-final: 0-12 Galway 1-12

Semi-final: Sligo 1-12 Galway 4-24

Roscommon

Semi-final: Leitrim 0-10 Roscommon 0-24

Previous meetings

July 9, 2017: Galway 0-12 Roscommon 2-15

July 17, 2016: Galway 3-16 Roscommon 0-14

July 10, 2016: Galway 0-13 Roscommon 1-10

May 20, 2012: Galway 3-15 Roscommon 0-10

May 18, 2008: Galway 2-16 Roscommon 0-6

June 18, 2006: Galway 3-7 Roscommon 1-8

May 18, 2003: Galway 0-12 Roscommon 0-8

May 19, 2002: Galway 3-12 Roscommon 1-8

August 4, 2001: Galway 01-4 Roscommon 1-5

June 3, 2001: Galway 014 Roscommon 2-12