An indicator of the ground covered by Roscommon this year is that they are not without backers going into this evening's match. On the face of it the draw was a disaster for them, throwing their great achievement, a hard-won Connacht title, into the hazard against a team they have already beaten in the province. Since that day two months ago, Galway have slowly fought their way back into championship contention. There remain enough reservations, however, to give Roscommon hope.
Central to this evening's match is the extent to which Roscommon can reproduce their performance in Tuam. No county manager knows as much as John Tobin does about Galway. His tactics in June were astute. The long ball into the forwards created havoc in Galway's defence and the cracks showed.
John O'Mahony's changes to the defence have yielded substantial improvement. Tomas Mannion suffered in the corner the last time, with Nigel Dineen exploiting his lack of pace. This prompted a change of role for Mannion. The switch to centre back mightn't be ideal for a player whose favourite position is wing back but with pace on the flanks, he can concentrate on holding the centre.
Into the full-back line came Kieran Fitzgerald, a successful debutant during the league, and his displays in the right corner have added to the tightening of the defence.
Centrefield was another sorrowful mystery for Galway. Fergal O'Donnell played a captain's role for Roscommon and beside him 18-year-old Seβmus O'Neill was a sensation. Again Galway have improved here and neither of the Tuam starters are included. Sean ╙ Domhnaill is on his honeymoon and Joe Bergin has reverted to the wing. Kevin Walsh's return to form has settled the sector.
Michael Donnellan's positioning beside him should improve things in that he plainly wants to play around the middle. How exposed this leaves Galway in the air will determine how much longer the experiment can continue, particularly now that Jarlath Fallon is injured for the medium term. This is another line where the Connacht champions are particularly strong. Paul Noone and Clifford McDonald are good footballers and flank one of the revelations of the championship, centre back Francie Grehan.
To what extent was Roscommon's win months in the making? Having been able to focus on Galway since the draw was made last autumn and having geared themselves to the task, will they be able to perform like that again? Galway have cut down on the concession of goals and improved at the back. Their forwards are now a more coherent force. Not without flaws they have still made enough progress to turn the tables.
