Carroll offers up a sermon of hope

THE man from the local radio station shoved the mike in to PJ Carroll's face. But the Sligo manager was unfazed; his faith in opting for youth had been justified and the dream was still alive. If only just. A replay with Galway in the "lion's den" in two weeks holds no real fears.

"We have come from nowhere in the last couple of years," said Carroll. "There is now a bit of pride in the Sligo jersey. Nobody had heard of guys like Padraig Doohan and Con O'Meara this time last year, yet here they are turning in great championship performances.

Where there is life, there is hope. Sligo football, for so long the poorest relations in a poor province, has found its messiah. Carroll the preacher, embarked on a sermon of hope.

"That match was the best championship match that has been played this season," he insisted. "It was a bad day for football, yet both teams played the game fair and square. There was no messing,

"Our job now is to finish the job the next time round - I feel this is a team that can go places. A few of our key players didn't play to 100 per cent, yet we were still in there with a chance of winning. The more championship matches we get the better we will get," said Carroll.

There was a far more buoyant spirit in the Sligo dressing room. In the Galway camp, there was just relief. Relief that their title - won so hard last year - was still in their hands, at least for another two weeks.

"Our problem throughout the League campaign over the winter is that we were inconsistent," said Galway manager Bosco McDermott. "We have nobody to blame but ourselves. On that sort of form, nobody could expect much from us in the championship.

"However, now that we have got Sligo back to Tuam - and with the chance of a few of our injured players being right for the replay - I would expect to beat them at home. But championship is championship and you just can't rule out anything.

"Sligo are good fighters. Even when we went ahead in the second half and were leading late on, I never ruled them out. The football in the first half was poor enough, but it was certainly a very exciting second half."

A repeat on Sunday week wouldn't do any harm for the image of Connacht football.

. TIPPERARY have been hit by a major injury crisis for next Sunday's Munster Senior Hurling Championship clash against Waterford with five possible first choice players fighting to be fit for the game.

Conal Bonnar damaged his shoulder and hamstring in the league final against Galway and is almost certain to miss the game. Tommy Dunne is still recovering from a serious eye injury and is also extremely doubtful.

Pat Fox (shoulder) and Aidan Ryan (back) are not yet ready for a place in the starting line up, while Colm Bonnar is again having trouble with the hand injury which almost caused him to miss the league final.

On the brighter side Declan Ryan has recovered from a shoulder injury and is expected to play. Club games involving county players were cancelled in Tipperary at the weekend because of the injury crisis.

The Tipperary team will not be named until late in the week when a clearer picture emerges regarding the injured players.