Boys from the Big Apple aiming to be banana skin for Galway

"Look, I'm not going to make any great predictions," says Ian Galvin, "but I would say we're quietly confident going into Sunday that we can turn the tide and win a Connacht championship match in New York for the first time."

Not many managers could lose two-thirds of last year’s panel, spend the best part of this season shovelling snow off their training pitch, never actually win a championship of any sort, and still sound so optimistic.

But you don’t become the manager of the New York football team without believing in the improbable. For Galvin – the Kerry and Waterville native who spent the summer of 2001 in New York on a J1 visa, and has been there since – there is no belief without at least a little hope.

On Sunday, New York will host Galway in the annual Connacht football championship precursor: it used to be considered a potential banana skin (indeed Galway needed a late goal to escape intact in 2010), although New York’s last five championship matches have seen them concede a combined 16-92, while scoring a mere 1-44.

Challenge games

What gives them more hope about this Sunday, says Galvin, is a greater belief in their own preparations, helped by two recent challenge games against a visiting Cavan team.

“Having Cavan in town a couple of weeks ago was massive for us,” says Galvin, speaking from the offices of Navillus construction in New York, which also sponsors the team. “That took the cobwebs off the players a little bit, helped us work on our game plan, and different scenarios, that we might go through against Galway.

"We understand it will be a massive task. Galway have a great tradition, with a lot of young footballers coming along, and a top new manager in Kevin Walsh. But we feel that we've developed again this year, have come on another bit, and hopefully we can make a small bit of history on the day."

Galvin lists off several new players, including former Wexford standout PJ Banville, plus Armagh's Robbie Tasker and Derry's Niall McFeely, while Westmeath's Keith Scally has taken over the captaincy this year from Brendan Quigley, formerly of Laois (and one of several of last year's New York players no long available).

New players

“Yeah, it’s a massive turnover,” says Galvin. “I’d say 60 to 70 per cent of the panel is different to last year. As always, there are just new players coming to the town the whole time. We’re not the traditional county and, outside of London maybe, we are looking at new players the whole time. Lads going home, new fellas arriving, or something as simple as players not being available because of work commitments.

“But I would say we prepare like any other county. In a way, the lads have it much harder here, put a lot of effort to get to training, and it’s not easy when it’s February and -20 Celsius.”

Galvin is certainly not exaggerating about the weather. Until recently, their artificial pitch at Gaelic Park was still buried under snow. But whatever about their level of preparation, he promises Galway an honest – and not overly physical – game of football.

“Some people use that as a crutch to beat New York with, but we approach the game as professionally as everyone else. We’ll be putting ourselves out there. We’re physical, but we know the parameters as well.”