CFC Galway v Sligo ( FAO Black and White)

I think Galway should take this one.. Even though I'd be worried about Hanley getting a roasting from Kelly if he gets enough ball.. Galway should have a lot more to offer than Mayo in the way of spirit. Sligo seem to have taken a hell of a lot of confidence from beating Mayo but methinks this could be a false dawn..

One or two of these should suffice for our neighbours...

I can see a red or two in this game ....

Mercifully you can't see any green with the aforementioned red...

Jayo Cluxton wrote:I can see a red or two in this game ....

No need to be bringing Ross Donovan's hair into this

B&W is Adrian Marren still in the panel had a good league last year?

Well B&W ye fairly blew that one

I wasn't worried at all by the margain at HT as anyone at the ground could have told you that a 9 or 10 point lead was fookall with the wind blowing in from the Atlantic like that
What had me worried was Galways general all-round rubbishness, 2nd to every ball, mis-placing passes, easily dis-posessed, slow reactions to breaking ball etc etc.
David Kelly cleaned us out, I though Alan Burke would be the man for him but how wrong I was. O Donnell did well for us I thought but was as guilty as the rest of them for over-playing the ball. Bergin switched with Conroy at HT and Galway began to dominate in this sector and create chances but were guilty of some shocking wides and only young Concannon who took his goal immaculately and PJ(as ever) come away with any credit.

What really brought Galway back into it was Sligo thinking it was game over after Armstrong was sent off early in the 2nd half. Armstrong was being needled all day and he foolishly allowed his marker to get to him. This allowed them an extra defender in front of their goal and it was clear then that they had set their stall out to hold on. That indicates an old failing of Sligo's, that of being naive and I think our lads sensed this. They had Galway on the ropes but were not interested in going for the killer punch, preferring to sit back. Galway flourished in the extra space and despite continuing to make basic errors you always felt a goal was coming. It was definitly a free at the end Meehan was taken out of it by O Hara who really let his side down. If he was really the player he thinks he is, he would have played the ball and not the man and perhaps managed to clear his lines thereby not conceding a tap-over free for Galway to level the game, a result we scarecly deserved on the day.

The replay is anyones guess. Sligo have home advantage but will the doubt have started creeping into them now? Galway will definitly be missing Armstrong and Im not sure about Nicky Joyce. They will feel like they got out of jail today and have it all to prove in Markewitch which is not a bad way to be approaching a Connacht Semi Final. They will also take heart in the character they showed today in fighting to the death and never giving up, espicially playing with 14 men for most of the 2nd half.

All to play for next Saturday in what has all the makings of another absorbing and close contest

mossbags wrote:Well B&W ye fairly blew that one


What really brought Galway back into it was Sligo thinking it was game over after Armstrong was sent off early in the 2nd half. Armstrong was being needled all day and he foolishly allowed his marker to get to him. This allowed them an extra defender in front of their goal and it was clear then that they had set their stall out to hold on. That indicates an old failing of Sligo's, that of being naive and I think our lads sensed this. They had Galway on the ropes but were not interested in going for the killer punch, preferring to sit back.

Yaw...For once Bags hits the nail on the head...I'm afraid I'm bucking the trend here with regard to Kevin Walshe. He should have deployed the extra man around the m/f area with license to cover where and when the need arose. O'Hara, possibly of his own volition, opted for a screening job in front of the full back line instead of a supportive role around midfield, thereby handing Galway the initiative. This in the end proved their undoing.
On another note, this Galway team aren't good enough to challenge for Sam. Say what you will about him, but Joyce is some footballer. When heads were dropping around him every aspect of his repertoire were called for today, calmness, leadership, accuracy, passing.
He'll need to be as good again on Saturday but I sense the "Fat Lady approaching microphone" for the All Blacks...

I fear Sligo left it behind today. Joyce showed his experience kicking a point late on when most would have gone for goal. I'm a great believer in "keeping the scoreboard ticking over" and waiting for the goal chance to come.
The Leitrim/Mayo minor match preceeds the replay next Saturday so I'm looking forward to a good day in Markievicz .

Inexperience was the root cause of yesterday's second half debacle.

In all the 20 years or so that I've been going to Sligo games, I can't remember them having such a large lead at half time in any sort of meaningful game. We got ahead, and then panicked. When Armstrong went off, 2/3 points would have sealed the game. Instead we retreated back into our shell, and invited Galway onto us.
At half time I said to herself that we were likely to sit back too much (especially with wind) in the second half, and unfortunately that's what came to pass.
The last 15 min in particular were a shambles. Kick-out after kickout was mopped up by Galway, and not due to any great brilliance on their part, but merely because we didn't contest the breaks. There were two midfielders from each side contesting each ball, but whilst Galway had 3/4 players around them for the breaks Sligo were only committing one or two players. End result, Galway got so much easy possession that they were guaranteed to get plenty of chances, and with Joyce on song, these chances were always going to be converted.

I said before the game that full back and centre back were my main points of concern, and the problems look even worse now. Looking at the bench yesterday, there wasn't one player who I felt could have been brought on to steady things up. Shockingly, there wasn't one sub there who would be classified as a corner-back or a full back. Ewing could possibly cover the corner, but he'd be found out against the likes of Joyce/Meehan. Other than that, there's nobody.


Clash

Adrian was on the bench for both the Mayo game and again on Saturday. Personally, I'd have him in there instead of Brehony or Sweeney.
He was injured towards the end of the league, and hasn't managed to regain his place.
Supposedly there's some attitude issues, which wouldn't surprise me at all. I played 6 seasons with Adrian, between u-16, Minor and u-21, and in every season he managed to have a falling out with management. When on song, he's more dangerous than Kelly, but he's as likely to go off in a sulk for the game as he is to hit a few scores.


For next Saturday, I'd be worried. As Kernan said afterwards, the 8 week gap can't have helped Galway, and this game will stand to them. Mentally, I'd be worried about the lads, they'll know that they left it behind yesterday and it wouldn't surprise me if they were a bit subdued as a result. Brehony and Sweeney have to be replaced.
Brehony does absolutely nothing in open play. He's only there for frees and McGee is well capable of taking them instead of him (as demonstrated in the last two games).
Sweeney is Sligo GAA's answer to Emile Heskey. He's big, strong, hard-working and ultimately useless. He has all the co-ordination of a drunken chimpanzee. He has great pace, but when he gets the ball he's more likely to drop it behoind him and fall over than actually shoot/pass. He's a waste of space, and shouldn't be let near a black jersey, never mind the team.

Joyce, Provider, Finisher, Leader, Master. Still not enough for Galway though. I suppose no one man team never made a Connaught Final.

And are Ross Donovan and Charlie Harrison the two best corner backs in the country? I would imagine so.

[quote="Loyal2TheRoyal"]Joyce, Provider, Finisher, Leader, Master. Still not enough for Galway though. I suppose no one man team never made a Connaught Final.

And are Ross Donovan and Charlie Harrison the two best corner backs in the country? I would imagine so.[/quote

Nail on the head shout here from the Meathman.....Funnily, the Rossies will prove hard nuts to crack on the big day....

Really enjoyed this game its just a pity that a poor umpire decision probably decided it..

Sligo got off to a good start went 3-1 ahead only for galway to reel them in and go ahead 8-4 some great play by galway and joyce to turn it around..but sligo finished the half stronger and kelly got a fine point to cut the gap to 2..

The second half was good ,bradshaw probably caused Galway the match with an assist to kelly,but he showed a bit of courage to go straight up the pitch to get galway a scoreable free..Meehan was a big lost for galway went off injured that was the turning point for me....

This game is best summarised in the saying.."Sligo wanted it more".....

Walshe's withdrawal of O'|Hara speaks volums...

Boxtyeater wrote:This game is best summarised in the saying.."Sligo wanted it more".....

Walshe's withdrawal of O'|Hara speaks volums...

If i was a Galway man, walshes reaction after the match would drive me mad

Enjoyed this game and fair play to Sligo. When will we stop hearing Galway put forward as AI contenders every year? A poor side.

I hope that the CCCC gives the Galway back marking Kelly, and O'Hara the punishments they deserve. In particular O'Haras stamp was a dirty thing to see.

RMDrive wrote:Enjoyed this game and fair play to Sligo. When will we stop hearing Galway put forward as AI contenders every year? A poor side.

I hope that the CCCC gives the Galway back marking Kelly, and O'Hara the punishments they deserve. In particular O'Haras stamp was a dirty thing to see.

What was done to Kelly? Heard some rumblings at the game, but didn't see it myself?
He's constantly involved in ***** like this, and I'm sorry to say that I wasn't overly surprised by it.


Absolutely delighted with the performance of the lads last night, work-rate and desire were what won the day. Hopefully Mark Quinn will be back in time for the Ross game.

As luck would have it, I'm gonna be in Paris the weekend of the Connacht final (lack of early-season confidence coming back to bite me in the ass!). Anyone know of a good spot to watch the game in the City of Light?

black&white wrote:

RMDrive wrote:Enjoyed this game and fair play to Sligo. When will we stop hearing Galway put forward as AI contenders every year? A poor side.

I hope that the CCCC gives the Galway back marking Kelly, and O'Hara the punishments they deserve. In particular O'Haras stamp was a dirty thing to see.

What was done to Kelly? Heard some rumblings at the game, but didn't see it myself?
He's constantly involved in ***** like this, and I'm sorry to say that I wasn't overly surprised by it.


Absolutely delighted with the performance of the lads last night, work-rate and desire were what won the day. Hopefully Mark Quinn will be back in time for the Ross game.

As luck would have it, I'm gonna be in Paris the weekend of the Connacht final (lack of early-season confidence coming back to bite me in the ass!). Anyone know of a good spot to watch the game in the City of Light?

Before the game he shook hands with his marker and the Galway lad (don't know who it was) kneed him. Didn't make any real contact and Kelly didn't blink an eye but I still hope it's punished.

Well done to Sligeach. As predicted here this game turned out to be a cracker and in all probability the game of the year.
Wouldn't be overly critical of the Galway lads, they probably played to their optimum and it could have gone either way. It's clear Sligo are only behind Kerry and Tyrone and maybe Monaghan and in truth they just about deserved the win over the course of the two games.
Galway have a tough third game in three weeks against Mattie Forde and Wexford in Salthill now on Saturday afternoon. Mattie scored 4 or 5 goals in a league game against us a few years ago. If Galway do manage to overcome the Wexicans after their endeavours over the last two weeks their season is right back on track. I'd be confident in normal circumstances but history has proved time and time again that a team facing into the qualifiers within a week after losing in the championship tens to be really up against it.

mossbags wrote:I'd be confident in normal circumstances but history has proved time and time again that a team facing into the qualifiers within a week after losing in the championship tens to be really up against it.

What a turn of events .... confidence oozing seeping out of Moss here ....

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

mossbags wrote:I'd be confident in normal circumstances but history has proved time and time again that a team facing into the qualifiers within a week after losing in the championship tens to be really up against it.

What a turn of events .... confidence oozing seeping out of Moss here ....

nothing like getting your excuses in early Moss

bocerty wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

mossbags wrote:I'd be confident in normal circumstances but history has proved time and time again that a team facing into the qualifiers within a week after losing in the championship tens to be really up against it.

What a turn of events .... confidence oozing seeping out of Moss here ....

nothing like getting your excuses in early Moss

Nothing of the sort Bo. If Meehan, Nicky and Hanley are all fit we will hammer the blind bollix out of them, even despite the 7 day turnaround.
Without these 3 I'd still expect Galway to beat any Leinster side but just not as convincingly as most commentators and pundits would probably suggest.

mossbags wrote:

bocerty wrote:

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

mossbags wrote:I'd be confident in normal circumstances but history has proved time and time again that a team facing into the qualifiers within a week after losing in the championship tens to be really up against it.

What a turn of events .... confidence oozing seeping out of Moss here ....

nothing like getting your excuses in early Moss

Nothing of the sort Bo. If Meehan, Nicky and Hanley are all fit we will hammer the blind bollix out of them, even despite the 7 day turnaround.
Without these 3 I'd still expect Galway to beat any Leinster side but just not as convincingly as most commentators and pundits would probably suggest.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I love it. The Whest have bitten and spoken back.
Leinster isn't that bad Moss and sure we'll see this weekend