Galway Remain Unbeaten In Division One

Allianz National Football League
Galway 1-16 Donegal 0-12

Galway underscored their Allianz NFL Division One credentials with a comfortable 1-16 to 0-12 win over Donegal at Pearse Stadium.

Liam Sammon's side gave another fine display of attacking football, with Michael Meehan again the star of the show, his fine goal putting the Tribesmen 1-7 to 0-2 ahead after just 24 minutes.

Galway played with the breeze in the first half, and led by 1-10 to 0-2 at the break. Such was their dominance and the panache with which their forwards played, the Salthill faithful gave the team a standing ovation leaving the pitch.

John Joe Doherty, the Donegal boss, made two changes at the break, bringing in Michael Magee and Ciaran Bonnar to bolster his ailing charges.

Galway eased off the gas and the 2007 league champions finally found their range, as Christy Toye inspired a minor comeback that saw them reduce the gap to seven points, 1-14 to 0-10, with 13 minutes left.

Indeed, Galway did not score for 20 second half minutes, Donegal outscoring them 0-7 to 0-0 in that period. 

Ciaran Bonner [0-3], two points from David Walsh, and further scores by Toye and Stepehn Griffin gave Donegal hope that a shock comeback was on the cards.  

But Meehan, the Galway full-forward, came up trumps with two late points to give the Westerners their fourth straight win in the league competition.

The home side established their early lead thanks to two scores from Damien Dunleavy, two from Meehan and another from Joyce, with Michael Murphy and defender Eoin Wade keeping Donegal in touch.

However, Meehan all but ended the game as a contest with a fine goal on 22 minutes. He gathered possession 20 metres out and ran straight at goal before planting a fierce drive into the corner of the net.

Meehan came close to finding a second goal just before the break, but his shot was tipped away by Donegal goalkeeper Michael Durcan. Gareth Bradshaw added another point to give Galway an eleven-point lead at the break.    

Donegal, despite a second half surge, were completely outclassed and remain mired in relegation trouble with just one point from four league games in 2009, while Galway preserved their perfect record in the division.