CONNACHT CROWN UP FOR GRABS AS TRIBE EYE UP REVENGE
PREVIEWS: SEE PAGES 47 TO 51
THE Battle of the West tomorrow will generate the most amazing atmosphere and be tribal warfare at it’s very best.
It’s going to be magical – 19,000 people jammed into the Hyde. It doesn’t get much better.
Over the next few years we’re going to see one of the most intriguing power struggles in football played out between Mayo, Roscommon and Galway.
Roscommon are right there with the other two now.
Division Two champions this year, they beat Galway by nine points in last year’s Connacht final when they got their tactics spot on.
They are being managed superbly and Kevin Mcstay and his backroom team are in it for the long haul. They have had to put in really hard work over the past 12 months to get the team exactly where they want it.
When the pressure has come on Roscommon have folded in the past but that’s a fatal flaw Mcstay is fading out.
Unless Galway are supremely prepared they will be beaten tomorrow.
Mcstay’s declaration, made after the semi-final win over Leitrim, that his team would be turning up to play at the Hyde despite rumours of the final being moved was also brilliant management.
The venue should be worth four or five points to the home team in this final. Furthermore Roscommon don’t fear Galway and won’t afford them too much respect.
To go to the next level they will have to conquer their fear factor against Mayo but that’s another day’s work.
For now Roscommon will just concentrate on beating Galway and they have a real chance after what happened 12 months ago.
Believe it or not, Galway are in a bit of a conundrum.
Do they play as they did in the quarter-final against Mayo when they adopted a very negative approach and were stuck in a defensive strait jacket? I believe they’ll be beaten if they do.
Kevin Walsh won’t say it but I believe there’s a mindset change in Galway. They got away with blue murder against Mayo and will have a big problem if they go with the same tactics.
But they absolutely tore Sligo apart in the semi-finals and while the Yeatsmen were far from full strength, Galway’s attack really caught the eye. So if they continue to play on the front foot then they will beat Roscommon.
I can’t say for sure that they will but when you give Shane Walsh (inset) that role of playing near the opposition goal and clarity of what he’s about with an
O’neill’s ball in hand, he’s awesome.
When you keep
Damien Comer close, as he was against Sligo when he scored 2-2, you’ve got a marauding presence in the inside line.
And when you play a higher line, with Eamonn Brannigan and Barry Mchugh leading the charge, you’ve got much more menace.
Put it all together and their last performance was the best I’ve seen this Galway team play. Another big question is how will Roscommon deal with the pace and physicality of the Tribe’s inside men?
If the Roscommon defence can hold firm, from midfield up they can cause untold trouble through the likes of Diarmuid Murtagh, Donie Smith, Enda Smith and Ciarain Murtagh.
They have savage talent in their ranks but again it’s key that their rearguard holds out. However, what this comes down to is the mindset of the Galway players. Look at how costly it was for Carlow to remain in their strait jacket last weekend and if the Tribe don’t cut loose then Roscommon have a serious chance.
Mcstay has them on the front foot but, with a positive attitude, Galway can win by three or four points.