it always seems a little strange talking to John O'Mahony as the losing manager. About seven months ago he stood under the stand at Croke Park talking about losing the All-Ireland final. Now he's talking about losing the league final, and again it just seems strange.

No one expects Galway to make a habit of losing in Croke Park the way Mayo had done in the decades before, but this was a game most people felt they would win. That adds to the disappointment of the players, still a little wounded from last year's championship. Nothing heals the pain of defeat better than a shot of victory, but that will have to wait another day.

For O'Mahony, there can't be any excuses when so many of his players failed to perform the way they are capable. "We just didn't play well enough to win the match and I can't have too many qualms about that," he said.

"We died at the end and even with our few chances to equalise at the end, you would have to give it to Mayo for their collective effort over the 70 minutes. It's a special day for Mayo and I would like to congratulate them. But we have to pick up the pieces straightaway because we play Leitrim in three weeks' time. And after today that is more crucial now than ever for us."

Throughout this league, Galway's strength has been in the second half. So many times it brought them victory when they stared defeat in the face. Yet if the five minutes of injury-time are included, they didn't score for the last 28 minutes of the game.

"Of course the only way you will win a match is by doing it yourself. People were suggesting that it was coming easy for us, and although I am not suggesting anyone pulled back, we just didn't do it. Mayo were just the hungrier team, and they've certainly put themselves in pole position for the Connacht championship.

O'Mahony - himself a Mayo man - appreciates as well as anyone what it means for the county to win their first title in 30 years: "If you combine the under-21s in the All-Ireland final, Crossmolina winning the club title, and now this, well it just goes to show that sport is an amazing thing. When Mayo left the pitch after the defeat to Sligo last year, people were saying Mayo wouldn't be back for a number of years. Here we are now and they look like winning everything in sight. And they fully deserve that sort of praise."

Even in making the full range of tactical switches, O'Mahony couldn't find a winning solution. Yet there are some positives to be gained. Ja Fallon made his much-awaited return and the younger players continue to gain some experience. "The league for us is always about bringing in new blood and certainly there are a lot of players available to us and proud to play for us."