Gaelic Football Tips – Connolly Backs Galway For Connacht
Galway for Connacht
Mayo v Roscommon Preview
The big game this weekend is taking place in McHale Park, Castlebar where Roscommon, who finished third place in Division One of the National League, head west to take on neighbours Mayo in a cracking Connacht Championship quarter-final. The game will be televised live on RTÉ 2 with throw-in scheduled for 4pm.
Connolly spoke highly of Mayo’s league campaign and the work that new Mayo manager Kevin McStay has done since coming in,
“Mayo won the league and were very, very impressive. Kevin McStay has rejigged the team with a brand new full-back line and pretty much a brand new half-forward line. They’re the form team at the minute.”
Roscommon, while not to the same extent as Mayo, also had a positive spring as they finished third in the Division One table as mentioned earlier. The former Dublin star spoke about how the Rossies started strong in the league but faltered towards the latter half of the competition,
“Roscommon had a great start in the league, but faltered coming to the end of it. They stayed in Division 1 which was their priority I’d imagine at the start of the year.”
The Dublin legend is backing Mayo as the first of our gaelic football tips,
“But I can only see a Mayo win. It’s in Castlebar – if it was a reverse fixture in the Hyde maybe it would have been a bit closer, but you have to fancy Mayo to keep their momentum going.”
You can check out our full Mayo v Roscommon preview here.
Connacht Championship Prediction
The winner of the Mayo v Roscommon clash on Sunday will be rewarded with the prospect of travelling to Pearse Stadium for a Connacht semi-final showdown with defending champions Galway.
Connolly is bullish on Galway’s chances of coming out victorious against either Mayo or Roscommon in that semi-final matchup with home advantage being key,
“I know Galway were beaten in the league final last weekend, but Cillian McDaid will be back for them, they’ll have a fitter Comer, a fitter Finnerty and they’ll be at home to Mayo – if Mayo get across the line against Roscommon. I just feel like Pearse Stadium is a hard place to go to, especially at this time of year.”
Click Below For All Our Connacht Championship Odds
Kerry And Dublin Still A Class Apart
The Munster and Leinster Championships haven’t been too competitive in recent years with Kerry and Dublin respectively dominating their provinces. The six-time All-Ireland winner with Dublin isn’t forecasting any surprises surprises in either of the two provinces this year either,
“Kerry are obviously big favourites in Munster and I don’t see anybody really challenging Dublin in Leinster at the moment. Meath are probably the closest to them, followed by Kildare.”
Tyrone can deny Derry in Ulster
The Ulster Football Championships has traditionally been the strongest and hardest to predict provincial championship in gaelic football with such strength in depth in Ulster football. Derry were the champions last year and have followed that up with a Division Two league final appearance this spring.
Derry did look to be outclassed in Croke Park in the second half of their league final against Dublin and Connolly is tipping Tyrone up as a team that could surprise many in this year’s Championship,
“In Ulster, Tyrone are sneaking in under the radar. Nobody is talking about them, but I think they’ll tee up a semi-final with Derry by beating Monaghan. I actually think Tyrone are a better team than Derry, especially if they’re at Croke Park.
“Tyrone’s squad depth is huge, they’re starting to build something and their full forward line looks solidified. Nobody has been giving them a chance because of the way they were playing at the start, but I think they’re sitting pretty now.”
Click Below For All Our Ulster Championship Odds
*Prices subject to fluctuation
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