A thrilling second half surge that included a goal from Robert Finnerty in extra time saved Galway from an unexpected exit, overcoming Sligo by two points in a Connacht semi-final that challenged all pre-game predictions. Galway’s victory, which saw them cross the finish line with a score of 1-13 to Sligo’s 0-14, came more as a stumble than a dash.
Despite leading the match until Finnerty’s crucial goal, Sligo now faces the task of channelling their unrewarded effort into the Tailteann Cup. Even though they were considered the underdogs against Galway, who are two tiers above them in the Allianz Football League, Sligo proved to be a formidable opponent. They were intent on narrowing the gap compared to last year’s provincial finals where they were defeated by Galway by a margin of 14 points.
With a strong start to the match, Sligo had moved ahead 0-5 to 0-1 by the 18th minute, with Patrick O’Connor standing out as the team’s top performer during the first half. Galway, on the other hand, appeared to struggle to keep up, with only Johnny Heaney and Robert Finnerty managing to score notable points and narrowing Sligo’s lead to a point, going into half-time at 0-9 to Galway’s 0-6.
Although Galway had multiple opportunities to score goals in the first half, provided by the likes of Cein Darcy, Liam O’Conghaile, Jack McCabe, and Dylan McHugh, they could only convert two points, including McHugh’s shot over the bar after 21 minutes.
As the game moved into its final stages, Galway still trailed by three points, with Sligo maintaining their vigorous performance and adding more points via Sean Carrabine, Niall Murphy, and Alan McLoughlin. It was only Finnerty’s last-minute goal that turned the tide in Galway’s favour. This was a far cry from Sligo’s previous victory over Galway in the 2012 Connacht Senior Football Championship semi-final.
Right away, the entry of Damien Comer breathed new life into an until now faltering Galway side. He scored two remarkable points and just missed a powerful goal, resulting in a 45. Galway managed to lessen the gap to just one point, with the score at 0-14 to 0-13 in Sligo’s favour. Despite squandering a few opportunities in the game’s final stages, Sligo managed to keep their lead.
However, Galway seized control in the game’s dying minutes, scoring a decisive goal during two minutes of injury time. Sligo’s defensive mishap was capitalised on by Damien Comer, who passed to Johnny Heaney, setting up an easy scoring opportunity for Robert Finnerty.
Despite the victory, Galway’s upcoming opponents could see an opening, as Galway showed weaknesses during this match.
The teams were as follows:
– Sligo: A Devaney, E Lyons, E Mcguinness, P Mcnamara, B Cox, N Mullen, D Cummins, S Carrabine, C Mulligan, C Lally, A Mcloughlin, P O’connor, P Kilcoyne, N Murphy, M Gordon, with substitutes L Deignan, M Walsh, P Laffey, E Smith, D Conlon.
– Galway: C Gleeson, J Mcgrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn, D Mchugh, J Daly, L Silke, P Conroy, S Kelly, J Heaney, S Walsh, C Darcy, J Mccabe, R Finnerty, L O’conghaile, alongside substitutes D Comer, C O’curraoin, D O’flaherty, K Molloy, P Egan.
Barry Tiernan from Dublin officiated the match.
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