Leitrim brought serious fight to the game says Galway's John Maher

Galway will take a lot from Saturday’s 1-20 to 2-12 victory over Leitrim in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada according to captain John Maher who highlighted the fierce challenge the Green & Gold brought in the Connacht SFC Semi-Final.

With hordes of Galway fans swarming their heroes on the field, the Galway captain took time out from signing autographs and selfies with fans to chat with the Observer and his immediate reflections on the game signify how hard it was for the reigning champions to get by Steven Poacher’s side.

“It was a real championship battle,” Maher told the Observer, “I think Leitrim brought serious fight to the game and it took us a while to get to the pitch of that to be honest. So there's a bit of learning in that for us. It's something we need to take now into the Connacht Final final in two weeks - we've got to work on it.”

With Leitrim putting a Galway side seeking a fifth Nestor Cup in a row under serious pressure, what got John and his teammates through: “I think we went back to the simple things. We had the man down and that suited us. There's something we can certainly take from that.

“We invited a bit of pressure from them as well when they were a man down as well. Our backs kind of did well, they got a few good turnovers and we won a few kick-outs and we got on top there. We mixed the good with the bad - always something to work on.”

Galway came into the contest without a game since the end of the League and the warm conditions made it very different from the Tribesmen’s last outing: “The seasons have changed very quickly, there's no more studs and we're back wearing mouldies and the pace has gone up and it feels like a championship. 

“If you don't get to that pitch, you'll get left behind. But yeah, there was certainly a lift from league football there today.”