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Goalkeepers are a different breed from the normal, the ones whose mistakes are remembered far more than saves they made, so they have to have a special bit of confidence in themselves, and Mayo's U21 goalkeeper Matthew Flanagan is no different. The Balla man has the strange history of playing for the county's u21 side in championship action before he did the same for the minor side back in 2014 and his have it a go attitude shines through when talking about that occurance. "It was strange, it just happened quickly, I was training with the minors and I got a call two weeks before the championship, they had a few injuries and asked would I come into the group and I said 'sure look, why not' and we hadn't the best day, but it was great to come in and get the game, sure I was only 17 at the time I think."

The Galway footballers return to league action this Sunday in Celtic Park (2pm) when they face Derry in round three of the National Football League.

Galway kept up their great start to the season on the football field by following up their FBD League success with a win over Laois on the road last Sunday. In this weeks www.advertiser.ie Galway GAA podcast, Alan Flynn and Colm Gannon look back over that win and preview Galway’s biggest test to date this year when Tyrone come to Salthill this Sunday in round two.

Aidan O’Shea will play his first football in Mayo colours since last years All Ireland semi-final replay defeat to Dublin when Mayo take on Cork in Páirc Ui Rinn on Sunday. The Breaffy man has been picked at centre-half-forward in Rochford’s first National Football League team.

Mayo get their National Football League campaign under way on Sunday away to Cork in Páirc Uí Rinn, and for new manager Stephen Rochford it is going to the first major test of his side's credentials in the new season. Rochford will be dealing from a slightly rigged deck when he makes his first team selection, with no players from Castlebar Mitchels available to him, or from Hollymout-Carramore and Ardnaree who have booked their places in their respective All Ireland club finals.

With the greatest respect to the pre-season provincial leagues, they are really what they are, challenge matches with large attendances. They are a means to an end, to prepare you for the competitions that matter, the National league and the championship. They are to build up fitness, improve your football skills, and try to unearth a player or two that might make a difference in bigger more important games. Unlike some folk out there, Mayo’s defeat by Roscommon in the final group game in the FBD league does not bother me in the slightest. After all Mayo, like most, were experimenting and playing with a very under strength team. There are two matters that do concern me however; firstly the delay in appointing Stephen Rochford means Mayo are a full month behind the other counties in terms of work done, and secondly the number of players Mayo have out injured for the start of the league.

Following next Sunday’s FBD final against Roscommon (at 2pm in Tuam Stadium), the Galway footballers will embark on a rather difficult National Football League division two campaign.

For the second time in 12 months Roscommon came to Castlebar in the FBD League and went home with a place in the final after beating Mayo on their own patch. How this season will be judged will be seen in the months that come on much sunnier days, but in this encounter the hungrier and more in tune visitors were deserved victors.

Things have gone as much to plan results wise for Mayo as Stephen Rochford could have hoped for in his first two games in charge of the side. But next week will see a steep step up in the standard of opposition on what his side have faced so far when Mayo make the trip to Hyde Park to take on Roscommon in round three of the FBD League.