Lively Galway men run hosts off their feet

DERRY 2-12

IT is only February and Derry were quite poor . . . but after those health warnings have been taken into account this was still a very lively performance from Galway in what was a quite one sided Division 2 National Football League clash at Celtic Park on Sunday.

Two very late Derry goals – both in the gift wrapped category – put a respectable look on the scoreboard for the home side, but as a contest this game had died a death three minutes into the second half when an Adrian Varley goal put Galway seven points ahead.

If one aspect of overall play was to be picked out as the essential difference between the sides it was pace. Right from the opening minutes, Galway played this match with a tempo and vigour that Derry just couldn’t match . . . and the scores fairly poured in.

Before the end of the first quarter, Galway had powered into a 0-7 to 0-2 lead with Eddie Hoare, Damien Comer, Paul Conroy, Adrian Varley, Shane Walsh and Liam Silke all raising white flags, as Derry – in front of a small home crowd – desperately tried to stay in touch.

Derry did rally briefly just before half-time with points from Emmet Bradley and their most damaging forward in Ryan Bell, scores that left them just three behind at 0-10 to 0-7 when Down referee Ciaran Branagan sounded the interval whistle, but that was as good as it got for the home side.

After Johnny Heaney’s second point of the match in the first minute of the second half, Galway delivered the killer blow. Good work by Liam Silke on the right flank of the attack set up Adrian Varley in a few yards of space about 13 metres from goal, and he ripped a fierce drive high into the Derry net.

Although Ryan Bell replied with a quick Derry point, Galway were now in rampant form with Enda Tierney, the rampaging Johnny Heaney (2) and Eamon Brannigan landing points that had Kevin Walsh’s side 1-15 to 0-8 ahead by the end of the third quarter.

With the home crowd on the way out, and with just three minutes left on the clock, Galway led by 1-17 to 0-11 when the first of Derry’s two fortuitous goals arrived.

A looping Shane Heavron sideline ball drifted – pretty harmlessly it seemed –  into the Galway square and as Emmet McGuckin tried to get a touch, Maghnus Breathnach misjudged the flight of the shot and it dropped into the back of the Galway net.

Full coverage in this week's Connacht Tribune.