Padraic Joyce Reminiscent Of Roy Keane As Galway Midfielder D'Arcy Eventually Gets His Dues

Galway made light work of Roscommon, winning at their ease by 1-24 to 0-18 to book their place in the Connacht senior football final against Mayo in a fortnight's time.

There was little to separate the sides in the early exchanges with Diarmuid Murtagh drawing Roscommon level on 18 minutes but the Tribesmen took over before the break with Robert Finnerty and Matthew Tierney turning the game on its head.

The Oughterard star Tierney scored 1-2 in a brilliant burst, including a goal which he lashed past Conor Carroll off his favoured left foot. Finnerty, meanwhile, kicked points for fun for the men in maroon, ending his afternoon with 0-8, including six from play.

It was a demonstration of Galway's strength in depth as starting without key players Shane Walsh and Damien Comer barely seemed to impact on them, with others stepping up to take their chance.

Cein D'Arcy was sensational, catching four kick-outs clean in the second half alone as he dominated the skies under the restarts from both ends, from Connor Gleeson and Carroll.

The increase in fetching is one of the big positives of the new rules for many football followers with all kick-outs now having to go beyond the arc, bringing aerial duals back.

Some keepers are still trying to clip short kick-outs to the edge of the arc but it's becoming rarer and rarer with opposition teams ready to pounce on defenders who are waiting for the ball, like David Clifford did to Mayo in the league final when setting up Paul Geaney's opening goal.

So for now the majority of goalkeepers are pumping long.

The likes of Rory Beggan, Shaun Patton and Niall Morgan in particular can still pick out targets with missile-like deliveries but whether it's precise or into a crowd of bodies, Galway certainly have many targets in the likes of Tierney, D'Arcy , John Maher and Paul Conroy.

Rob Finnerty was wary of an upset after watching Cork v Kerry last night.

The man of the match gave us some insights into how Galway play. #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/gFFzEMt34b

— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 20, 2025

Cein D'Arcy was their biggest target on Sunday and Padraic Joyce referenced that in his post-match interview, though he didn't go overboard in his praise.

“That is their job," he said when asked about his midfielder winning the battle of the skies, reminiscent of Roy Keane in the punditry chair.

Joyce went onto reference how short kick-outs are 'very, very risky,' indicating that the skill of fetching is here to stay.

"Six-foot-three, six-foot-four lads. Their job is to catch the ball and send it inside to the forwards. The game is gone that way where there is more and more kickouts going long in the game. Now short ones are very, very risky.

“Cein D’Arcy caught some unbelievable kickouts, in fairness to him,” he added, giving his player his dues for a finish.

D'Arcy, who plays his club football for Ballyboden St Enda's in Dublin, kicked 0-3 in last year's All-Ireland final for Galway and will be a key player as they bid to win a first Sam Maguire since 2001.