THEY had only a handful of first team players on view and the weather conditions were worse than awful but the men in the maroon jerseys sent out a clear message last Wednesday night in Bekan - Galway are back!

Alan Mulholland’s men played with a drive and desire not seen for some time and even though it was the first game of the season there were indications that the team from the southern end of Connacht may have something to say about the destination of silverware later in the year.

The game itself was a fine one given the storm-force winds and sheets of rain blowing straight down the pitch, and the events were always interesting and noteworthy. Some of the shooting left a lot to be desired but that was understandable given the conditions.

Three Mayo men played with Sligo IT; Kevin Keane lined out at full-back while David Drake and Danny Geraghty formed twothirds of an impressive half-back line alongside Sligo’s Ross Donovan.

The star of the show was Galway’s corner-forward Shane Maughan. The son of former Mayo star, Jimmy, scored 1-2 and looked dangerous whenever the ball came his way.

Maughan scored his side’s opening point after five minutes and added another soon after despite the Galway men playing into the howling storm. At the other end, Sligo IT were giving as good as they got and looked to get the ball into the danger-zone as quickly as possible.

Their full-forward Kenny Sweeney looked lively and with his corner-forward colleague Danny Cummins buzzing around the place, they were soon clipping over the points.

Both Sweeney and Cummins kicked two apiece before the interval while Seamus Ryder and Paul Garvey also got on the scoresheet for the students, but the Galway back line never looked like conceding a goal.

Cummins did have one effort just before half-time that might have sneaked into the net but Brian O’Donoghue comfortably kept it out a...

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