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Pádraic Joyce delighted to reach another Connacht decider

Galway senior football manager Pádraic Joyce. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Galway senior football manager Pádraic Joyce. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

By Cian O'Connell

Reaching an eighth Connacht SFC final in a row shows the western province matters deeply to Galway.

Three provincial titles have been secured since 2016 by Galway with manager Pádraic Joyce delighted to book a May 7 date against Sligo in Castlebar.

Sunday's 1-13 to 1-9 triumph over Roscommon at Dr Hyde Park proved to be another encouraging afternoon for the maroon and white team with Joyce acknowledging the importance of Connacht Championship encounters for his team.

“No, they’re huge. I think people say, when they lose a match, ‘Oh sure, it’s only the provincials’ - they’re only saying that to gloss over getting bet.

“I know it’s a new system, but it’s far easier in this system to go into it as a provincial champion than a semi-final loser.

"Because if you do go on and win the final, you’ve a home game straight away. If you don’t, you’ve more than likely an away game against a Dublin or a Kerry or God knows who. So, at least we know where we’re going.

"To me, Connacht medals are very important. Look at our dressing-room there – some lads have none, some have one, some have two. So we’re not falling out the door."

Considering Sligo's impressive record at underage level, Galway will afford Tony McEntee's outfit the utmost respect.

“One hundred per cent," Joyce says. "They took an U20 title off us during the week in Tuam, so they’re building nicely there in Sligo and they’ve been very dominant in colleges football the last couple of years, so we’re under no illusions.

"Tony McEntee has them in good shape, and we’re not going to think we’ve the game won or be complacent - whatever. We’ll give that our full attention, don’t you worry about that.”