Galway with their tails up will be a threat to any team in the championship, but will need more from their main men in attack if they are to challenge for Sam Maguire, says Kevin McStay.
The Tribesmen survived a late Mayo rally that saw the home team at Castlebar whittle down a six-point gap with two minutes of normal time on the clock to the bare minimum, but they couldn't force an equaliser as the men in maroon held on to advance to a provincial semi-final.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, former Mayo player McStay argued the result was important for Galway and a management career defining game for Padraic Joyce, given the recent record between the sides and Mayo’s experience at negotiating the qualifier route.
The inside forward line of Rob Finnerty, Damien Comer and Shane Walsh kicked three points from play between them, and while in-form Paul Conroy finished with 0-03 to his name, further improvements from their main men could be a springboard for even greater success this summer.
"Paul Conroy is probably the best midfielder in the country... but they (Comer, Walsh and Conroy) had so much more to give," he said.
"For them to become an All-Ireland series team, they’ll have to improve. They will improve. This will be huge for their confidence levels."
With Galway facing Leitrim on one side of the Connacht draw, and Roscommon up against Sligo on the other, few expect anything other that a repeat of of Division 2 final played earlier this month.
The outcome could be the toss of a coin.
"The Roscommon forwards are every bit as good as anything that is in Connacht. In Enda Smith, they have a goal machine of a midfielder," he said, adding that Anthony Cunningham has made the Rossies a more difficult side to beat since taking over in the hotseat from McStay.
While there are semi-final hurdles to jump first – McStay insists Sligo have always been a tough nut for Roscommon to crack, even from his time there as manager – it has the makings of an intriguing contest.
"They have beaten Galway twice this year in the league and taken two Connacht Championships off Galway in the last five years, so they won’t for a second be in awe of Galway."
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