Goal poacher Durcan can give Sligo another lift

When Tom Howley glances out the pub window, he'll often see Paul Durcan scooting past. If time permits, he takes himself to the front door and the two will trade hurried news or playful jibes.

"He's always organising and running a hundred things at once. Often, he'd fly by talking on the phone or whatever and I'd get on to him, tell him he was never off that damn phone. `No time,' he'd say. He really is a brilliant lad, no-one will tell you different around here."

Paul Durcan is from Curry, the kind of town that centres around a streetscape carved into a hollow, bustling, friendly and for the most part unexceptional. In Tom Howley's pub tomorrow night, they'll fall silent for The Sunday Game and analyse the patterns that led to the eventual result. And they will of course, pay special attention to Durcan, who stood alone for his performance in the drawn game.

"Everyone knows Paul around here, he's really looked up to, especially for the work the does with kids. I don't think you could explain just how much effort he puts into his game, how much dedication he applies to Sligo football. He is just so committed to it," continues Howley.

At the outset, the publican declares a healthy age gap between himself and the Sligo midfielder, but admits that they played club football together in the twilight of his own career. Yet their relationship stretches way back to when Durcan was a whipper-snapper, just one of a bundle from the town who shuffled up to the park for training.

"The thing about Paul was that he didn't set himself apart then. It wasn't a case of seeing him the first day and pinpointing him as one to watch for. At that time, there would have been a few lads who would seemed to have had more talent than Paul. But sure isn't that often the way?"

Whatever path he took, Durcan is central to Sligo football aspirations right now. In a day of mixed fortunes for the county against Galway in Markievicz Park last Sunday he was one of the few constant stellar presences, running with Galway's Kevin Walsh and manufacturing a goal just when the home crowd were beginning to consign another year to the dustbin.

"I wish I could say I'd been scoring goals all through the league, but that's not the case," he said earlier this week, laughing.

"All I remember is the ball coming in - Paul Taylor dropped it in and I just kept my eye on it and began a run. All I was hoping for was to maybe get a fist to it and thump it over the bar. Next thing I connected and it was in the back of the net. It was a lift we needed."

His strike was one of three the home team fashioned in the second half, smashing the mood of a game which seemed to be easing towards a soothing victory for the All-Ireland champions.

"To be honest, we had been fairly successful in creating goal chances throughout the league so I wasn't that surprised when we rattled a few in. But you're doing well to put three past a defence like Galway's."

Afterwards, it seemed that rumours seeped through to every ground in Ireland that Sligo had dumped the All-Ireland champions. In Clones, it brought more excitement than the result people had actually witnessed in front of them. It took a few minutes to clarify that Galway had - predictably - forced a draw with one of those last-gasp equalising frees which now provide exclamation points to virtually all close GAA matches.

"The mood in the dressingroom afterwards was strange. I mean, we weren't exactly overjoyed but there was a bit of relief there as well. Okay, we were a point up in injury time and it would have been nice to close it but we were also eight down at one stage in the second half and we weren't forgetting that. So there was no sense of pessimism or a feeling that we had left it behind us."

He is aware, though, that such is the common opinion elsewhere. The smart money is on no surprises in Tuam.

"Well, Galway are the All-Ireland champions. People expect them to do well at home. But as we see it, it's a new situation, a fresh game and could be just as unpredictable as the last day. We'll go down there believing we can win," says Durcan.

Because that's what they've been scavenging for all through the years, just a few sunny days in a row. Durcan used to shudder when he thought of Sligo's championship record and even now, when it seems as though they have gained a bit of momentum, ill-fate trips them up.

"I remember growing up watching men like John Kent and Johnny Stephenson playing football for Sligo. Fine footballers. We never got the results but you still had pride in the county. I mean, our championship record doesn't point to a lot but there have always been good players here. We just needed to get the break."

Many fancied them to take that step last year but instead they unravelled against Roscommon.

"Well, we had lost the final league game against Cavan and were maybe just going into a trough period. The first day, we played fairly well for most of the game but were caught. In the replay, we just couldn't switch it on."

Tomorrow, if Sligo are to survive, they will have to light up Tuam Stadium. Once again, they will expect Paul Durcan to lead from the middle, harrying, chasing, creating. As Tom Howley puts it, fewer men take more abuse on a football field. Against Galway, Durcan's role is pivotal; neutralise Kevin Walsh and you do much to take the flow out of Galway's attack.

"He is such a big, strong man but the fact that he played a lot of basketball means he switches the ball very well, links well with his team-mates. I've marked him a good few times before, I think we know each other's game so I'm looking forward to doing it all again. And if we play well enough, we'll be there when it matters."