How successfully Galway can process the disappointment of their Connacht Final defeat to Roscommon will have a big bearing on the outcome of this game.

Donegal are already back up on the horse after Qualifier wins over Longford and Meath so you would expect them to produce a strong performance, but it’s hard to be so definite about Galway.

They were surprisingly poor against Roscommon, with a number of component parts of the team malfunctioning quite badly.

It was a bad day in particular for goalkeeper Ruairi Lavelle from the kicking tee, and the strategy of going short so often made little sense considering Galway boast three fine fielders of the ball in the middle third of the field in the shape of Fiontan O’Curraoin, Paul Conroy, and Tom Flynn.

Going long to that trio paid major dividends during the League, and Galway would be well advised to revert to that tactic on Saturday.

Having done so well to win the Division Two League title and then beat Mayo in the Championship for the second year in a row they’ll surely be highly motivated not to allow their season to end on a bum note.

If they bring their ‘A’ game then we should have a ferocious contest because Donegal looked like they were beginning to rediscover their mojo in their recent Qualifier win over Meath.

Paddy McBrearty, Michael Murphy, and Ryan McHugh are all bang in form, and if they’re allowed to dictate the flow of the game then it will be Donegal’s day.

It’s all set up to a be a fascinating tussle and one that’s likely to be decided by a very narrow margin.

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