Galway manager Kevin Walsh pictured at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence on Friday.
By Cian O'Connell
A windy Wednesday evening at the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence brought some satisfaction for Galway manager Kevin Walsh, who was encouraged by the impact made by a string of players returning to the inter-county fold.
Having claimed the last two FBD League titles Walsh has experimented in the competition, while also showing a willingness to win in January too.
Johnny Duane delivered a fine performance, while the inside forward line of Frankie Burke, Patrick Sweeney, and Adrian Varley were also prominent.
Elsewhere Ronan O’Beolain, Sean Andy O’Ceallaigh, Evan Wynne, Ciaran Duggan John Maher, Dessie Conneely, Robert Finnerty, and Padraic Cunningham sampled action in a Galway senior jersey.
“I suppose there is a bit of pressure on lads coming back, in particular,” Walsh admits. “The debuts guys too, that is pressure in itself aswell. Adrian Varley, Frankie Burke, Johnny Duane, and Patrick Sweeney, guys like that are trying to find their feet again which is good for those guys.
“Having injuries and stuff last year, it is good to have them back in with their experience and they will be able to help the young lads.”
Adrian Varley impressed for Galway against Sligo on Wednesday.
Galway travel to Elverys MacHale Park on Sunday for a clash against Mayo and Walsh is likely to make alterations to his team following the Sligo success. “The conditions did improve compared to the morning, but it was still quite hard to play good football,” Walsh reflected.
“Look it was a good game for the two teams and it was important to have it fairly close right through so that guys could be challenging even more.
“That was important and we had maybe six, seven, or eight debutants out there getting a smell of it. We will probably change things around during the tournament, but it was nice to get the win at the same time.
“We will look at things, young lads came on as subs against Sligo. Some lads are away on holidays which were booked early on, that happens aswell.
“Whoever is around available and not injured we will move it around. Everybody we had against Sligo played, the numbers aren't as high as we would like because of the drawing of other things, but we will try to move it around as much as we can.
"It is about getting guys really wanting to be here number one, representing Galway and to feel the honour of that, which is important for anybody."
