Officials' error so costly in end..but only one of these sides has what it takes to win Sam

THE Connacht final was not just a win for Galway. This was a statement.

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To win four in a row in the province is big, something that has only been done eight times in history, and something Galway have not done since the 1960s.

Yet what they achieved goes beyond history. It is about making a point.

When Padraic Joyce failed to win a Connacht Championship in his first couple of years, critics had a go at him.

Then in 2022, his third year in charge, they came to Castlebar and beat Mayo by a point.

Now four years later, he was in Castlebar again, winning another close encounter against Mayo, making yet another statement.

Yesterday's victory shows what Joyce has built over the course of his six years in charge: Resilience, culture, spirit, calmness.

They play with fire in the hearts, ice in their heads.

And what makes this a statement win is that they did it without Damien Comer or Shane Walsh (inset). Rob Finnerty was there but did not play as well as he normally does. Plus John Maher went off at half time.

And most of all, they did not play to their best as a team. Yet they won.