It was a disastrous opening to the Allianz Football League for Galway on Sunday afternoon, as they fell to a heavy defeat to arch rivals Mayo in Salthill.
The two sides met in last year's league final and All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final - with Mayo winning on both occasions.
Given the hurt of last season, one would have expected Galway to come out firing on Sunday, which made the limp manner of their defeat all the more disappointing for their fans.
Ultimately, Mayo coasted to an eight-point victory in the home of their local rivals. Mayo legend Lee Keegan says that if his county had lost in the manner in which Galway did on Sunday, he would have expected them to be "ridiculed."
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Lee Keegan rips into Galway performance in defeat to Mayo
28 January 2024; Céin Darcy of Galway in action against Eoghan McLaughlin, left, and David McBrien of Mayo during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Galway and Mayo at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Writing for RTÉ Sport, Keegan said he could not fathom how poor Galway were in defeat to Mayo.
The 2016 Footballer of the Year said that Galway "should have been smarting" after coming out second best against Mayo last year, and said that their lifeless performance was unacceptable:
You might say it's early days in the league and it won't count for too much in the grand scheme of things come summer time, but Galway shipped a couple of big losses to Mayo last year and should have been smarting. I can't understand how you could go out to play your biggest rivals in that fashion.
Had Mayo put in a similar display, they would have been ridiculed within their own county.
This is an undeniably talented Galway team, and Sunday's loss does come with the caveat that a host of players were missing - including Damien Comer and Seán Kelly.
Nonetheless, this is a squad which reached the All-Ireland final just two years ago, and have otherwise largely failed to meet expectations.
Keegan, familiar with the heartbreak of All-Ireland final defeat, fears the age profile of this Galway squad means they are running out of time if they want to win a first Sam Maguire since 2001:
It's a massive year for manager Padraic Joyce. It's his fifth campaign and we're at the stage where nothing less than an All-Ireland victory would constitute a success.
Arguably, they're running out of time. Mayo, as a group, were around challenging for All-Irelands for 10 years - we didn't get it done but we were in the shake-up. This Galway team are continually touted and yet they've been in only one All-Ireland final.
Galway have a chance to get their league campaign back on track this Sunday, with another Connacht derby bringing them to Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon.
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