Game over
What a finish at Pearse Stadium. Sligo were the better team for most of the 70 minutes but 14-man Galway chipped away at the lead. Padraic Joyce was central to the comeback, providing the bulk of the scoring and setting up Eoin Concannon for the injury time goal which brought them back into it.
Sligo will have grievances with the free which allowed Galway to level and force a replay, but neither side could have complained had they lost – I lost count of the wides at around 120 for each team.
73′
Michael Meehan is fouled by Eamonn O’Hara. “It’s a dubious one,” says Brady. And he’s right. And Gareth Bradshaw holds his nerve to slot the equaliser. Unbelievable – Galway get out of jail.
72′
Goal for Galway!
Eoin Concannon runs onto Padraic Joyce’s fisted pass and hammers it past Philip Greene. Just a point in it. 90 seconds left.
71′
As if to underline his quality, Kelly slots a fantastic point. Under pressure from Alan Burke and Eoin Concannon, Kelly wins the ball, turns and cracks it between the posts. At the other end, Padraic Joyce raises another white flag. Three minutes of injury time to play…
70′
Great play by Man of the Match David Kelly. He picks Kieran Fitzgerald’s pocket and goes in bravely between Fitzgerald and Niall Coleman. Great stuff by the little man. Coleman in the book.
68′
We have a score! Gary Sice found his range with that wide a minute ago and splits the posts this time. That’s just the second point we’ve seen in 20 minutes. Sligo have scored one point in the second half.
Can it all be blamed on the wind? I doubt it.
65′
Copy. Paste. Wide. Gary Sice this time.
64′
Wide. Keelan Cawley. I’ve copied “Wide” onto my clipboard, so I can just hit Paste every minute from now on.
63′
Another minute, another wide. Ross O’Donovan, the Sligo corner back, gets in on the act. And then Galway goalkeeper Adrian Faherty sends his quick kick-out straight over the sideline. This one’s going from bad to worse.
61′
If you’re interested in events in Bloemfontein, Germany have taken the lead against England. Miroslav Klose with it. You can follow that here.
60′
Some of the shooting is pathetic. Gary O’Donnell for Galway this time. He was under pressure. We’re up near 20 wides in total here.
59′
Mighty effort by Sligo’s Mayo’s Alan Costello but the wind catches it and it drifts just wide. Sligo haven’t scored in 15 minutes or so.
58′
Giant? Heavyweight? Always thought Padraic Joyce was slighter than the way he’s being described by Sean Walsh, the TV3 commentator. Maybe he’s speaking in metaphors.
55′
That’s the type of link-up play Galway supporters want to see. Michael Meeha takes on three defenders, releases Padraic Joyce and the veteran tags on another one. Just five in it now, and David Brady is frothing at the mouth at Sligo’s use of the extra man. “They were eight, nine points up – they didn’t need to defend. They need to go for the jugular.”
53′
Midfielder Paul Conroy, who could be stationed at full forward now, with another shot which fails to trouble the posts, and Joe Bergin does the same a few seconds later. There have been 16 wides now (eight apiece) which doesn’t say much for the quality of the game. It’s enjoyable, though.
50′
Michael Meehan is half-limping around Salthill. He has a go under pressure but it goes well wide.
49′
If I said anything unflattering about Padraic Joyce, I take it all back. He beats three players on a 30-yard solo run and strokes it over the bar with his right boot. Great individual score cuts the gap to six.
48′
Another free from Joyce keeps Galway hanging at Sligo’s shirt-tails. Close to a goal chance for Michael Meehan, too, but Charlie Harrison got his finger-tips to it to divert it away from harm.
47′
Another ball to David Kelly, and another point for Sligo. Alan Burke doesn’t know which way to turn. Amazing to think that Big Joe Kernan hasn’t seen fit to make a change there yet. Perhaps he hasn’t much confidence in his other defenders to do any better. Either way, Kelly is playing superb stuff. Gooch-like.
44′
Joyce may be struggling from play, but he’s still deadly from placed balls. Another one arcs over, and there’s only seven between them. And just before I press “Send”, more evidence of Joyce’s problems – he has a go from a tight angle but the radar is off.
42′
Michael Meehan has been introduced for Galway, by the way. “Galway need four or five Michael Meehans,” says Brady.
41′
Padraic Joyce is a long time playing but I’ve rarely seen him do something like that. Swung a right leg at it, the ball went straight up in the air. Never threatened the goal and bounced harmlessly wide. At the other end, David Kelly burned Alan Burke again but from a tight angle he hits the post with his fisted effort.
39′
Red card for Galway!
But if Galway are to lose and need scapegoats, they’ll look no further than Sean Armstrong. He picks up his second yellow (in the space of a few minutes either side of the break) for a high tackle on Jonathan Davey. The mountain just got higher for Galway.
37′
If Galway are to make a comeback, it’s just started. Eoin Concannon, under a bit of pressure, scores from 35 metres.
36′
We’re away again. Joe Bergin caught the throw-in and ran forward but he dropped his kick short. It’s a strange wind. Or these players are no good. Not sure which.
Half-time
Sligo lead by nine but they should be further in front. David Kelly dropped one short just before the half-time whistle, and it was the third or fourth kick which fell into Adrian Faherty’s lap. Despite their Division 3 triumph, despite their win over Mayo, Sligo were underdogs going into this one, but they’ve been much the better team. Time will tell whether the wind is worth nine points, but there’s a feeling that it’s worth most of it. Big Joe Kernan has a job on his hands in the Galway dressing-room.
38′
There will be three minutes of injury time, and we’re well into that too. Galway have scored two points in the first half and I’m struggling to remember too many missed chances. Wind or not, they’ve been awful here.
37′
And a third Galway man in as many minutes is booked. Diarmuid Blake, the Galway centre back, fouls Mark Breheny and Colm McGee points the free. Only one team in it over the last 20 minutes here.
35′
Before the ball is back in play, Coldrick heads up to Sean Armstrong. Armstrong has been in the wars, and how he’s in the book too.
34′
There’s “a bit of off-the-ball activity,” says TV3 commentator Sean Walsh. Galway corner back Kieran Fitzgerald is fingered and referee David Coldrick produces the card.
31′
And another. Colm McGee slots a free after Eamonn O’Hara is fouled. “They’re Division 3 champions,” says co-comm David Brady. “And they’re playing like Division 1 champions.”
31′
GOAL SLIGO!
And it’s as good a goal as you’ll see this year. David Kelly gets out in front of Alan Burke, absolutely skins him with a move out of the Matrix, sprints clear and finishes brilliantly past Adrian Faherty in the Galway goal. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant stuff from David Kelly.
29′
That’s more like Mayo shooting from Sligo’s Mayo’s Alan Costello. He has a go from 50 yards and it bounces before going out of play, about 30 feet wide of the goal.
27′
Right half back Keelan Cawley is allowed to run unmarked into Galway territory and he fists over the bar. Joe Bergin wasn’t sighted there – that battle is currently 1-1 in points, a ratio which Sligo should be delighted with.
26′
Galway centre forward Sean Armstrong gets a dunt in the back from Brendan Phillips. “You can be sure he’ll take a minute or two to get up,” says Brady, seconds before Armstrong is up and the game is back on.
24′
Sligo’s midfielders are really quite good. Well worked to Stephen Gilmartin in the middle of the field, he picked out his midfield colleague Tony Taylor and Taylor provided the finish.
23′
David Brady with a typically fortright statement: “There’s a lot of Galway lads going down injured. And they’re playing against the wind.”
Joe Kernan wouldn’t be averse to the odd ploy. We all saw how Armagh played the game.
21′
Gareth Bradshaw looked good for Galway in the League but he’s struggling to get up to the pace of this one. He tried to attack for Galway down the right sideline but sliced his kick-pass into the terrace. Sligo supporters and pirates let off a big cheer.
18′
“It’s a five- or six-point wind,” says David Brady in the TV3 commentary box. Joe Bergin had a great chance of putting a dagger in Sligo’s heart there. He cut in along the end-line with thoughts of a goal but Charlie Harrison got across to dispossess the big Galway man. That battle was like something out of Gulliver’s Travels, and the little man came out on top.
15′
Sligo getting on top here, but they have the benefit of the breeze in this first half. Mark Breheny kicks one up in the air and the wind does the rest.
15′
There’s a guy in the crowd at Salthill. He has a skull-and-crossbones flag, a black bandana and a beard. He could be a Sligo supporter. Or he could be a pirate. We are beside the sea, after all.
13′
Sligo’s Mayo’s Alan Costello picks up where he left off against Mayo with a fine score to put Sligo back in front. John O’Mahony could have done with scores like that this year.
11′
Padraic Joyce levels it up with a free. David Brady reckons it was a “nice, soft free” to start him off. Okay, it was on the 14-yard line but it was closer to the sideline than the goals. Not to mention that the wind is playing a part. Easy or not, he had no trouble slotting it over.
08′
A first sniff of goal for David Kelly. He got out in front of Alan Burke, turned and hammered a low shot over the bar. He has half-thinking of goal there, but a point is a satisfactory return.
07′
Sligo are level through Colm McGee’s free. Very well taken it was, too, from the right sideline he curled it off the post and over. The breeze was evident there.
05′
Heart-broken Mayo fan has been in touch. Somehow I think everyone in Mayo is a variation of heart-broken this morning. Anyway, he/she writes, “I’m inconsolable after Mayo’s loss yesterday. In fairness, looking to the Connacht semi now it doesn’t say much for Sligo’s form at all. Throw it out the window, Galway should take this.”
Anyway, Galway hit the front through Joe Bergin’s fisted point. Could have been a goal chance but he opted for the safer option.
03′
A cracking run by corner back Charlie Harrison up the right wing. He’s completely unmarked, he steadies himself but he hits it badly wide. Ah well, we’ll forgive him that. He is a corner back. And a bloody good one too – he’s already forced his way onto the JOE Football All Star team.
01′
Anyway, we’re away on time. It’s sunny and windy in Salthill. Hope everyone out there has their sun-cream applied.
1359:
A windswept rendition of Amhran na bhFiann in Salthill. “There’s a big breeze and it’s going to play a major factor,” says David Brady in the TV3 studio.
I met David at Newstalk’s Off The Ball roadshow in Galway last week. Never shake his hand. It’s dangerous.
1358:
A reminder of the teams:
Galway: A Faherty; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, A Burke; G Bradshaw, D Blake, G O’Donnell; P Conroy, N Coleman; G Sice, S Armstrong, J Bergin; E Concannon, P Joyce, M Clancy.
Sligo: P Greene; C Harrison, N McGuire, R Donovan; K Cawley, B Philips, J Davey; T Taylor, S Gilmartin; M Breheny, A Costello, E O’Hara; C McGee, K Sweeney, D Kelly.
1349:
Kudos to TV3 for the production values. A nice bit of footage there, sound-tracked by Stevie Wonder’s Very Superstitious. Stevie W is headlining over at Glastonbury tonight, incidentally.
As far as I can make out, Senan Connell and Liam Hayes in the TV3 studio are fence-sitting and fudging, saying Galway should win but Sligo should be dangerous.
Eugene McGee is a more call-it-as-he-sees-it type of guy, and he reckons Sligo have a better team on paper than Galway. So I take it he’s expecting a Sligo win.
1342:
Welcome to the first on a busy, busy, busy day for the JOE team. We have Galway v Sligo from Pearse Stadium now, you can follow Germany v England with Conor Hogan over on our World Cup section from shortly after 2pm, and I’ll stay in the hotseat for the two Leinster semi-finals from Croke Park, starting with Dublin v Meath at 4pm.
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