Galway round off successful weekend
Galway 0-18 Wexford 1-09
Galway football’s feel good factor continued as Peter Ford’s Tribesmen picked up their second NFL Division 1B win – beating Wexford by 0-18 to 1-09 at Pearse Stadium today.
With the locals still buzzing about Salthill-Knocknacarra’s All-Ireland Club final triumph, Galway’s full-forward line of Michael Meehan, Padraig Joyce and Derek Savage put on a scoring master class - hitting 0-16 between them to dump the Model men.
Ford’s charges, who bagged their first win in four league outings against Kildare last Sunday, began brightly with four of their forwards pointing by the quarter-hour mark.
Meehan, Joyce, with a sweetly curled effort, Savage, who ended a left wing run with a punched point, and Paul Clancy all got off the mark to help the hosts go 0-04 to 0-02 in front.
However, Wexford bossed the latter stages of the opening half to go in at the interval with a 1-07 to 0-08 lead.
Mattie Forde, despite screwing two early frees wide, raised two white flags to help the Model men click into gear. Rory Stafford, Ciaran Deeley and Redmond Barry also pointed before PJ Banville, Wexford’s captain for the day due to Leigh O’Brien’s absence, fisted home a goal.
Forde crept away from Declan Meehan and sent in a pinpoint ball for Banville to direct beyond Galway ‘keeper Kevin Kilroy for a 1-05 to 0-05 lead.
Meehan, who top-scored with 0-04 (1 ’45) in the first half, quickly replied with a point. He added another with Savage also slotting over his second on the half-hour but Wexford managed unlikely scores from defenders Colm Morris and Padraig Curtis as the half ended.
Galway managed to get back level – at 0-12 to 1-09 – by the 48th-minute. In between a Forde free and a Diarmuid Kinsella point from play, Joyce swept over three points – two frees – and Meehan also scored from play after a save by Wexford stopper John Cooper.
From then on, the home side coasted clear with Meehan raising his tally to 0-08 (1f, 2 '45), Joyce also boosted his haul to six with Savage not far behind. All in all, a good day at the office and a vital win for Galway, who face Meath next weekend.
The day ended on a sour note for Wexford who had former skipper John Hudson sent off for his second bookable offence late on.
