Imperious Galway stroll into Connacht decider where old rivals Mayo lie in wait
Robert Finnerty of Galway with supporters after his side's victory. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
This went according to the script. Connacht champions Galway cruised to their tenth final in a row, while Roscommon let them.
Any prospect of a shock in Salthill was suffocated by an impressively controlled outfit who were at their ease throughout.
Man of the match Robert Finnerty would later confess that the night previous he had watched Cork push Kerry to extra-time nervously.
They knew what could happen to them if they didn’t turn up. So he slotted the opening free, added another seven points across the afternoon, as Galway never trailed once.
Pádraic Joyce’s side were in control from the first minute to the last.
A 10,573 crowd watched as they looked at home. Much of that stemmed from their awesome men in the middle. Every one of them had a huge moment.
Seán Mulkerrin took on the Enda Smith man-marking job to free up Seán Kelly.
It was the captain’s penetrating run that led to Matthew Tierney’s well-taken goal. Paul Conroy’s two-point shooting produced two glorious efforts in the first half. Cein D’Arcy was sensational in the sky. John Maher did everything, everywhere.
Roscommon recognised this issue but they couldn’t stop it. Keith Doyle came on at half-time. At that point they were eight points down. Closer to goal, Brian Stack had his hands full with Tierney. He was one of the Galway three-up and excelled.
After 20 minutes, he clipped a mark thanks to a terrific Conroy long ball. That partnership produced Conroy’s first two-pointer four minutes later.
A rotating cast took their turn on Finnerty. They couldn’t catch him. The Salthill shooter hit eight points from nine shots. He created a score for John Maher in the second half. Even Davy Burke was purring about that play.
“Galway expertly killed the game,” he said. “Their control, that score in the far corner by John Maher, I thought it was an exceptional score. They held the ball for two-odd minutes. We were in the ascendency and they killed it.”
Having watched the home side kick three two-pointers into the town end, Burke’s outfit went out and matched it.
The Murtagh brothers and Donie Smith all raised orange flags. Yet they only managed three points in the final 15 minutes. In the last 28 days, they have played four matches, all away. That evidently showed.
At no juncture could the visitors string together more than two successive scores. Every time they started to get on a run, Galway clipped their heels.
There was variance in how a team without Shane Walsh attacked. Occasionally, they kicked to their inside line, mostly they were patient and probed with runners from deep.
Dylan McHugh and Liam Silke drove forward to score. Kelly didn’t register a point but he created several, including winning a free right before his departure. The versatile flyer did crumple in a heap after that tackle, however, he left the field unaided.
Joyce was particularly pleased with how his side worked each attack.
“People will groan and complain about it but in the modern game and the new rules, it's chaotic up and down the pitch. Lads aren't going to stick the pace of 70 minutes. There is going to be lull periods in the game. I think our lads worked the ball really, really well and the objective was to be efficient up front and not be having daft pot-shots.”
Next up, Galway take on their rivals Mayo in Castlebar with a Nestor Cup on the line. Sunday was a stroll. May 4 will be no relation.
R. Finnerty 0-8 (2 frees); M. Tierney 1-3 (0-1 tpf, 0-1 mark); P. Conroy 0-5 (2 tp); C. McDaid 0-3; D. McHugh, J. Maher 0-2 each; L. Silke 0-1.
D. Murtagh 0-5 (1 tp, 3 frees); C. Murtagh 0-4 (1 tp, 1 f); B. O’Carroll 0-3; D. Smith 0-2 (1 tp); S. Killoran, R. Fallon, C. Neary, S. Lambe 0-1 each.
C. Gleeson; J. McGrath, S. Fitzgerald, J. Glynn; D. McHugh, L. Silke, S. Mulkerrin; P. Conroy, J. Maher; S. Kelly, C. McDaid, C. D’Arcy; M. Thompson, R. Finnerty, M. Tierney.
D. Comer for Kelly (57), D. O’Flaherty for McDaid (59), C. Sweeney for McHugh (63), S. O’Neill for Thompson, T. Culhane for Finnerty (67).
C. Carroll; P. Frost, B. Stack, N. Higgins; R. Fallon, D. Murray, C. Neary; E. Nolan, S. Cunnane; U. Harney, C. McKeon, E. Smith; D. Murtagh, B. O’Carroll, C. Murtagh.
S. Killoran for McKeon (10- 16, temp), K. Doyle for Higgins, D. Cregg for Harney (both half-time), D. Smith for McKeon (43), C. Cox for E. Smith (50), Killoran for Nolan (57, temp), S. Lambe for Neary (62).
S. Hurson (Tyrone).
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