Michael Meehan believes the criticism of Galway’s defensive system after their win over Roscommon has been blown out proportion.

Ciaráin Murtagh exposed a severe lack of pace on the right flank of the Tribesmens’ defence to secure a key score midway through the first half at Dr Hyde Park.

Galway became the first team to reach the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Super 8s but left the field in the wake of fresh questioning over their defensive system.

But Meehan believes Galway’s vulnerabilities out wide is not an issue exclusive to the Tribesmen. 

“It was a great goal by Ciaráin Murtagh. He just identified the one-on-one with Galway’s centre forward and probably said to himself: ‘you know what, I’ll take myself for a run here and see how I get on,” Meehan told Off The Ball AM.

“If he was faced up against one of the main backs he mightn’t have been as aggressive on that approach.

“But certainly Galway and every team protect that D and that scoring zone - where the percentage of scores are taken from – so there can be more space on the sidelines with every team.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a huge point of play. It’s nothing new what Galway are doing to other teams in terms of compacting in front of the main scoring area.

“What was noticeable was some of Roscommon’s wayward shooting were from those areas out on the sidelines in the low percentage zones.  They inevitably hindered Roscommon’s chances in the second half.

“They were never able to build any momentum because some of their shots weren’t really on. They were taking them from the left hand side; right hand side – just ballooning them – and that fed into what happened in the second half.”

James Hopper