No place for Galway to Hyde in Roscommon

By JIM CARNEY NOW we come to the real Connacht Football Championship. I AM TOLD by Roscommon sources that their main worries are about their defence; they simply don't believe their backs will hold the Galway forwards, even if Padraic Joyce and Michael Meehan don't start. A fit-again Seán Armstrong would worry them too, for he scored a cracking goal against Roscommon in the 2006 Connacht Championship, at Hyde Park, That was a crazy kind of game: Galway didn't open their account until the 37th minute (a Padraic Joyce point); the Rossies led 0-6 to 0-1 at the interval, but Galway put in a good second-half display and goals by Seán Armstrong, Michael Meehan and Derek Savage helped them to a 3-7 to 1-8 victory. That, incidentally, was the 50th Championship match between Galway and Roscommon, and the result gave Galway a 28-18 lead on the Roll of Honour. They made it 29-18 in 2008. By then Liam Sammon had taken over as manager from Peter Ford and Galway won at Pearse Stadium by 2-16 to Roscommon's 0-6. It's fascinating to reflect on how Galway met Roscommon twice in 1998 and twice in 2001 on the road to Croke Park. In the twists of turns of 2001 in particular, there should have been more sympathy for Roscommon â€â€ a bad system meant they could win the Connacht Championship, which they did with sensational victories over Galway (at Tuam Stadium) and Mayo with Gerry Lohan's dramatic late goal, almost five minutes into injury-time, but despite those heroics Ros' did not get the opportunity to play at Croke Park. Remarkably, in the first year of the 'back door' format they were drawn to play Galway in an All-Ireland quarter-final at a neutral venue: Castlebar. Galway won it with surprising ease, 0-14 to 1-5, with Michael Donnellan Man of the Match. In 1998 it finished in a draw at Tuam Stadium in the Connacht final, 0-11 to 0-11, and Galway won an epic replay at Hyde Park, after extra-time: 1-17 to 0-17. The rest is history. It should be Galway again this year but even with a young team they must stand up and fight if it comes to a battle. Defeat would be a huge setback. For Galway, there will be no place to hide at the Hyde.