Mulholland's men eyeing a return to the top flight

Victory over Kildare tomorrow would mean a major boost for Galway football, writes KEITH DUGGAN

THERE ARE shades of 1998 about tomorrow’s Easter Sunday fixture in Salthill, with the all-whites from Kildare mingling with the maroon jerseys, just as they did in the novel All-Ireland final of that year.

Although this is just a final round league match, it has the feel of a once-off affair about it. The reward is attractive for both sides: winning this match provides not just a return to Division One football next year but a chance to play Tyrone, whose form has been devastating, in Croke Park in just over a fortnight. That is nothing to be scoffed at.

“We haven’t seen Dublin too many times in the last couple of years,” says Finian Hanley.

“So it is a big incentive. But we are in this position now and the way training has gone in the last few weeks, we are looking to go for the jugular and get the win.

“Obviously we are playing a very strong team – an All-Ireland contending team really. Kieran McGeeney will have them well up for the game and I’m sure they see it as a great chance to get into Division One. But we have home advantage and we won’t fear anyone coming to Pearse Stadium. The shackles are off and we are safe so it as a knock-out type feel about it.”

Galway have had their wobbles in this league – most significantly during their visit to play Westmeath – but in the space of a few months, the pessimism that had taken a grip of Galway football has largely been dispelled. Much of that has been down to Alan Mulholland’s cool self-assurance and organisation.

He has responded to the disappointment of the U-21 team’s defeat to Mayo in the Connacht championship by organising a match between the Kildare junior side and a Galway development side of young or fringe players as a curtain-raiser in Salthill.

That match, combined with the efforts of the county board to make a festival occasion of the day – Easter eggs and a band at half time – are signs of rising optimism about the team within the county. Galway football seems to be on an upward curve.

The reintroduction of Pádraic Joyce was achieved quietly but it is a younger generation of players, most notably 2007 minor All-Ireland winning captain Paul Conroy, who have led the way.

Often used as an auxiliary midfielder or a grafting half-forward, Mulholland has redeployed Conroy at full forward and it has paid off. Conroy showed a scorer’s instinct with a cracking goal in their crucial match against Meath and he followed that up with a brilliant all-round display against Monaghan.

“Monaghan was the most complete performance I have seen ever from Paul in a Galway jersey,” Mulholland says.

“He gave us great stability and composure when it was tough going and the points before half- time were vital. It has taken a while. He is in since 2008 and it can take that length of time for lads to physically and mentally develop to feel as if they are able for this. And I feel that it is happening for Paul.”

The big question revolves around the availability of Michael Meehan, who has been injury-plagued over the past two years. If the Caltra man can stay fit and recapture his best form, it would give the side an inestimable boost of experience and class.

Meehan could yet play some part in the championship match against Roscommon on May 20th in Hyde Park. But he has yet to resume ball work or contact training and he hasn’t been around the Galway dressing room in a long time.

“We are trying to let him off and do his own thing and if he comes back it will be great news for us. In previous years everyone was asking ‘when is Michael back’. So we are trying to keep it as stress free for him and everyone as possible. He is always asked about the situation so he wants to keep it in the back ground.”

All the real pressure in this match is on Kildare, who have been frustrated in their last three attempts to exit Division Two for the top flight. That the Lilywhites have pushed hard for a place in the All-Ireland final during the same period underlines how competitive the second tier has become. Kildare’s frustration has not been lost on Galway.

Since that famous 1998 final, Galway enjoyed the more fruitful years before their recent decline. Kildare have yet to return to a September final but they have been reshaped by Kieran McGeeney into one of the leanest and most determined football teams around.

Now, they find themselves in a straight shoot-out against a young maroon team for a place in the final. Preserving their Division Two status was Galway’s immediate aim but this represents as good a chance to gain promotion as they could wish for.

“We always knew that Division Two would be difficult to get out of,” says Hanley. “Tyrone have been there for a couple of seasons and Kildare as well.”

Galway football people have enjoyed bigger days than Division Two deciders but a meaningful game in April and a chance for a first visit to Croke Park for four years will do just fine for now.