Meehan and Joyce turn it on

Galway 0-18 Wexford 1-9

Back then, Matty Forde contributed 4-5 to an emphatic 17-point victory.

The best they managed in Pearse Stadium yesterday in the fifth round of the Allianz National League was to expose frailties in their play and a weakness around midfield. But they couldn’t live with the major threat posed by Micheal Meehan in particular and team captain Padraic Joyce.

That was what decided a game of vital importance to both counties in maintaining their first division status. And after the boost of their win over Meath the previous week, Wexford manager Paul Bealin readily acknowledged it was a setback.

“We always knew it was going to be difficult to get two points,’’ he said, adding that he was especially disappointed with their return in the first half when they had a wind advantage. Two points up at half-time wasn’t “much of a cushion”, he said.

“We tried different players on Meehan and Joyce and whatever about watching one, it was very difficult to watch the two of them.’’ Galway coach Peter Ford wasn’t totally pleased with his team’s display either, admitting they conceded “a bad goal” and they hadn’t been getting ball into the inside line (where Derek Savage was also influential) when it was clear that they were “skinning” their markers. But, he praised them for producing some great scores in the second half: “It was easy enough at the end.’’

Savage was the first of the Galway forwards to make an impression, at a stage when the flow of possession coming in was rather erratic. Wexford showed a greater capacity at times to win ball, with Rory Stafford doing excellent work at midfield, where the promising Eric Bradley was absent.

Interestingly, Matty Forde wasn’t seeing a lot of the ball and it was notable that he was confined to three scores from placed balls over the 70 minutes. Nevertheless, he still posed a threat and his distribution was good.

It was a cross from him, kicked from the right corner, which set up the only goal in the 20th minute when PJ Banville rose unchallenged to punch the ball to the net. That put the visitors three points clear, the biggest margin between the sides up to then.

On balance, there wasn’t a lot between them, with Galway dependant on the scoring power of Meehan (an absentee against Kildare last Sunday), complemented by the industry of Savage and the craft of Joyce. Further out, Matthew Clancy made a lot of openings.

Scores were level for the fourth time in the 24th minute, following a well-judged ‘45 from Meehan. This followed a point from Savage, who was given a good ball by Clancy. However, he elected to kick over the bar rather than releasing it to Joyce, who clearly expected a pass. To Wexford’s credit they finished strongly to open up a two points lead by the break, 1-7 to 0-8.

The second half turned out quite differently, Galway forcing the pace and gaining an advantage. Two Joyce frees in quick succession had them level inside three minutes before Meehan gave them a lead they were never to lose. That score came after Paul Clancy promised a goal until keeper John Cooper stuck out his foot.

With U-21 player Niall Coleman to the forefront and Barry Cullinane also contributing after his introduction, the home side started to win more ball around midfield. And, while they also defended well, Wexford’s difficulties were aggravated by an inability to finish off promising moves though over-carrying.

They managed to draw level after Forde converted a 14-yard free in the 46th minute, but that was their last score of the game. After that Galway surged into a three-point lead. While Philip Wallace at full-back made things difficult for Joyce, Meehan maintained his threat.

His accuracy from placed balls was to see him finish the game with an impressive eight points, with Joyce and Savage matching that total between them.

* Aidan Mangan’s refereeing was good. He issued five cards before sending off Wexford’s John Hudson after carding him a second time.

Scorers: Galway: M. Meehan 0-8 (0-2 ‘45’s, 0-1 free); P. Joyce 0-6 (0-3 frees); D. Savage 0-2; P. Clancy and T. Costelloe 0-1 each. Wexford: P.J. Banville 1-0; M. Forde 0-3 (0-2 frees, 0-1 ‘45); C. Deely, R. Stafford, R. Barry, C. Morris, P. Curtis and D. Kinsella 0-1 each.

GALWAY: K. Kilroy; D. Meehan, K. Fitzgerald, A. Burke; M. Comer, D. Burke, T. Giblin; N. Coleman, P. Geraghty; M. Clancy, P. Clancy, C. Bane; M. Meehan, P. Joyce (c), D. Savage. Subs: T. Costelloe for Bane (48th minute); R. Gibbons for Giblin and B. Cullinane for Geraghty (53rd).

WEXFORD: J. Cooper; C. Morris, P. Wallace, N. Murphy; K. Kennedy, D. Murphy, P. Curtis; P. Colfer, R. Stafford; C. Deely, R. Barry, D. Kinsella; PJ Banville (c), J. Hudson, M. Forde. Subs: A. Flynn for Colfer (28th); B. Doyle for Stafford (69th).

Referee: A. Mangan (Kerry).

* A minute’s silence was observed in memory of the late Michael Tarpey of the Corofin club and a former Galway panellist.