Pat Spillane suggests Galway ‘fooled’ people as he lambasts the Connacht SFC

He is now questioning the Tribesmen after this defeat.

Dublin got their All-Ireland SFC campaign off to a flyer, with a 2-14 1-18 victory over Galway in the round-robin Group 4 contest. A last-gasp Tom Lahiff winning point secured a dramatic win by a one-point margin for the Dubs.

Following the opening round of the SFC, Pat Spillane now has questions for Galway after beginning their campaign with a defeat.

The Kerry legend previously revealed his top six counties for All-Ireland glory ahead of the SFC, and placed the Tribesmen second in his list.

Spillane believes the Connacht champions were deservedly beaten and that the one-point margin flattered them. Spillane is now also questioning whether Galway's Connacht triumph was as impressive as it seemed to be.

In his column for The Sunday World, he said: "But given the woeful performances of the other two leading counties in Connacht, Mayo and Roscommon, it would suggest that this year’s Connacht championship was of a fairly mediocre standard and a poor indicator for All-Ireland success.

"Perhaps we were fooled by those Galway performances in Connacht against fairly average opposition."

On the other hand, the Kerry native was impressed with Dublin's attitude and game management in their triumph over Galway.

Spillane now has them as his second favourites for All-Ireland glory, feeling now the Dubs have shown him a reason to move them up his list.

The Kerry native added: "And the critics may now ask: how could you get it so wrong? How did you write off the Dubs?

"Truth is, I never wrote them off for this year’s All-Ireland. But as a GAA analyst you are looking for evidence and that comes from current form."