Matthew Tierney has said that only Galway’s A-game will do in Sunday’s showdown with Mayo.
It’s the biggest game of 2023 so far as two of the Championship heavyweights face off at Pearse Stadium - with no safety net for the winners at the preliminary quarter-final stage.
Tierney didn’t follow Monday morning’s draw but felt there was almost an inevitability to the Connacht rivals being paired with each other after both slipped up in their final group games on Sunday.
He said: “Yeah, I just woke up and Galway v Mayo, didn’t know what time or day yet but it’s cleared up now it’s Sunday, so all guns for that.
“We’ll have our own heads right and our own ship right. It is what it is, isn’t it? We have to go out next Sunday and bring our best, bring our A-game, it’s do-or-die now.”
Galway were the last county with a 100% record in this year’s Championship going into Sunday’s final Group 2 game against Armagh, who beat them by a single point to leapfrog Padraic Joyce’s side into top spot and move straight into the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
“All I knew was we had a kick to win it,” said Tierney, who wasn’t sure of the permutations during the closing stages. “I didn’t know… I knew if we kicked it we were fine but I didn’t know at all. Sure you’re there, you’re in the heat of battle, you don’t see these things or hear these things.
“I didn’t have a chance yet but I will look at it. It was disappointing, it was in our own hands. Every game is in your own hands. We put ourselves in this situation and we have to deal with this as best we can.”
Although Galway lost to Mayo in this year’s League final having drawn with them in the regulation phase of the competition, it could be argued that their win over them in last year’s Connacht quarter-final was the springboard for their emergence as All-Ireland contenders, as they went on to reach their first final in 21 years on the back of it.
“That was just a good day for us,” said Tierney. “We got a lot of things right that day and our attitudes were right. It worked out. We knew going into that that if we had ourselves right we'd be fine and it worked out that way.”
That game was in Castlebar though Galway will enjoy home advantage in Salthill this time. Playing at home has proven to be a rather dubious advantage in this rivalry in recent years, however, with six of the last eight meetings going in favour of the away side.
“It's a home venue for us but they're well used to it as well,” Tierney acknowledged. “Ah, it is a small advantage, it's good to be at home obviously.
“Hopefully all the Galway fans are buzzing for it and they come down in their hundreds and thousands so we'll be looking forward to it.”
Tierney was among those hordes for this fixture in his youth.
“You name it, I was there. I loved it. It's great to have that memory as a supporter, the hype and build-up to it, the whole week you're buzzing for the game. Yeah, I used to go to all of them.”
Galway’s largely good form has coincided with Tierney’s, the Oughterard man having been shortlisted for the Player of the Month award for May having hit 2-6 in the Connacht final win over Sligo.
“I suppose, I’ve had a few good games. The Connacht final was probably my best game. They don’t come around too often but I’m trying to get them a little bit more consistent, if I can. I’m enjoying it at the moment,” he added.
