All roads lead to Dr Hyde Park for the Connacht senior football final today. What awaits us is truly a David v Goliath story. The reigning Connacht champions Mayo, who are aiming for their fifth successive Connacht championship against Sligo who have only won the Nestor Cup three times in their history.
Mayo have enjoyed the sort of dominance that is beginning to become all too common in the provincial championships, like Kerry and Dublin, Mayo have won the majority of their provincial championships in the last decade.
This dominance has led to high expectations but it has also lead to complacency amongst fans with most Mayo, Dublin, Kerry fans not really interested in the provincial stages of the championship unless it is against one of their bitterest rivals.
For Sligo however today see an historic day for the GAA community as both the minors and the seniors contest their respective finals. This hasn’t happened in 61 years and for a county that has produced liitle or no underage success this has created a great buzz in the county.
Sligo have never handled the favourites tag well in the rare occasions that they have been granted that title, a look back to the 2010 final still haunts many a Sligo fan. Today they enter the game as overwhelming underdogs which suits them perfectly.
The pressure is all on Mayo, Sligo have nothing to lose, and for the first time since 2010 Sligo have a confidence in their ability that they can claim a fourth provincial title. Their forward line is as clinical as they come with Kelly, Marren and Hughes forming one of the most potent forward lines this season.
It’s the changes though that has Sligo football in such an optimistic frame of mind. Niall Carew has introduced not only new face but young faces. Davey, Cian Breheny, Flanagan and Maye all made their debuts against Roscommon and put in good performances. For the first time in a long time Sligo had some fresh blood into a panel that still consisted largely of players that were involved in their 2007 triumph.
When most counties are aiming for size and strength in their battles for provincial and All Ireland glory Sligo have gone another way with pace being the driving factor in the side with their midfield of Breheny and Murphy both Half Forward converts and not necessarily being overly big.
It could be this lack of size however that could be their downfall though as in Aidan O’Shea Mayo has one of the most impressive players in the game, size, strength and skill are just some of the weapons in his arsenal and Sligo may struggle to contain him.
Mayo will approach this game like any other but in the back of their minds they know they have bigger fish to fry, with the pressure of winning an All Ireland title firmly on their shoulders. It’s this pressure that may ultimately be there downfall today as Connacht is simply just another notch on the bed post of a county aiming for the ‘ultimate prize’.
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