At half-time in this afternoon’s FBD final, with Galway sitting comfortably seven points ahead, it looked as if we couldn’t get out of Tuam fast enough and move onto the serious business next weekend. At the finish, however, Mayo were left to rue a match we’d handed to the neighbours, by missing two late scoring chances and then committing two breaches which enabled Galway to snatch back the lead and win by one on a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-14.

With so many youthful faces on show in both teams at a bitingly cold St Jarlath’s Park in Tuam today, it felt – certainly in the first half – more like an underage fixture rather than a Senior game. There was plenty of fresh-faced endeavour too but also a fair few mistakes, which perhaps is only to be expected in a game played in January.

We drew first blood when Fenton Kelly made the first in a series of upfield bursts and bagged the opener off the upright. We had a decided fondness for the posts today, as things transpired, sending the ball clattering back off the woodwork a number of times, the first of these being Kuba Callaghan’s missed goal effort from a really good position.

We were made to regret that miss as Galway showed far more economy when they got sight of our goal. We’d shaded the exchanges in the opening quarter but Galway wrested the whiphand from us when McDonagh pawed the ball to the net at the end of a move that saw us outnumbered at the back.

A second goal – on the rebound after Jack Livingstone had blocked the initial effort – and a two-point score from play by Kieran Molloy helped to usher the Tribesmen in seven points to the good at the break.

By then we’d lost Dylan Thornton, who’d shipped a heavy knock out around the middle, and our attack had made little headway against the wind, with placed balls from Niall Hurley, Jack Livingstone (a ’45) and Cian McHale all we had to show for our efforts.

In addition, we’d left three further points behind us from miscued frees as Paul Towey (a sub for Kuba Callaghan) and Jack Livingstone (from a two-point effort) had efforts that both came back off the upright.

By the start of the second half, in addition to Paul Towey and Fergal Boland, who’d both been introduced late in the first half, Tom Lydon and Eoin McGreal were now in the fray. James Carr, Adam Barrett and Colm Lynch would also see action before the finish.

We started the second half in much more positive fashion. Paul Towey notched our opening score of the half before Galway shot what was their first wide of the contest. Then Cian McHale smashed over a two-point free and whipped over one from play soon after to cut the deficit to a far more agreeable target of three points.

The home side were now feeling a bit of heat. They weathered it well enough for a time, with two frees either side of a Fergal Boland point from us. Then, after Cian McHale had bagged another score for the visitors, points for them by Finnerty and Mulhearn stretched their lead back out to five as the game entered the final quarter.

A Mayo comeback from there didn’t appear likely. But then Jack Carney thumped over a fine two-pointer and, when Finnerty hooked the second of two frees wides from a good position, Galway still hadn’t put Andy Moran’s side away.

Soon it was the home side’s turn to mutter about their missed chances. A flowing Mayo move ended with John MacMonagle getting upended in the square and Adam Barrett coolly sent the ‘keeper the wrong way from the spot.

We had our tails up now. Our next attack ended with Stephen Coen finishing off his left – quite the collector’s item, that – which meant, with four minutes to go on the clock, we were now a point up.

Galway missed a two-point free and then saw nothing come of a ’45, which meant that, with the game entering injury time, we were still that precious point to the good. We could have made the game safe at that stage too but Fergal Boland and Fenton Kelly both missed efforts from out on the right.

One breach in those final frantic moments might have been understandable but two in quick succession was just pure daft. And how costly they were too, with Galway working the equaliser from the first and then Finnerty left with the straightforward task of converting a 14-yard free straight in front of the posts with the final kick of the game to seal the FBD for the Tribesmen.

Aside from the irritation of losing in such fashion to the neighbours, however, the result of today’s pre-season joust doesn’t matter a jot. Sure, it would have been nice to wipe their eye in front of a large crowd – three thousand or thereabouts – in what still ranks as the spiritual home of Galway football. This still was, after all, only the FBD.

In that respect, our meeting this day next week, and the rest of the National League that follows, will be where the serious stuff starts for Andy Moran’s Mayo. They’ve had a productive few weeks to run the rule over the players at their disposal – with the very welcome news after the game today that Conor Loftus has rejoined the panel providing a real boost for us – and now, starting next weekend, it’s time to get the show on the road for 2026.

Mayo: Jack Livingstone (0-1, ’45); Liam Golden, Stephen Coen (0-1), Sam Callinan; Fenton Kelly (0-1), John MacMonagle, Cathal Keaveney; Darragh Joyce (0-1), Dylan Thornton; Diarmuid Duffy, Jack Carney (0-2, 2pt), Nathan Moran; Cian McHale (0-5, 2pt free), Kuba Callaghan, Niall Hurley (0-1, free). Subs: Paul Towey (0-1) for Callaghan, Fergal Boland (0-1) for Thornton, Tom Lydon for Hurley, Eoin McGreal for Golden, James Carr for Duffy, Adam Barrett (1-0, penalty) for McHale (blood), Colm Lynch for Keaveney.

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