Galway hit the goal trail in high-scoring league tie

GALWAY 5-15

DERRY 2-15

THIS was the Tuam version of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral as both gangs emptied their magazines without any fears for personal safety before eventually Galway had the spare late belt of ammunition to see them through an eventful battle.

It was highly entertaining fare, but in a bizarre kind of way, with both defences there for the taking in a match that delivered 37 scores, a further handful of spurned goal chances from play, and two missed penalties.

When Galway trailed by 2-10 to 1-7 just as Clare referee Rory Hickey was about to sound the interval whistle, the prospects of a home victory in front of a crowd of around 2,500 seemed pretty remote, but Tom Flynn – as he has done on a few occasions before – delivered a trademark reviving goal.

In the end, Galway achieved the win that keeps them bang on track for one of the two promotion places on offer and while they will take solace from their spirited comeback and exciting forward play, they have – to put it mildly – serious problems to address in defence.

Derry pulled out their half-forward line leaving space in front of a Galway full backline that struggled all day to match the pace and dash of a nippy inside set of visitors’ forwards.

The Galway defensive problems might have been most acute in the full backline but there were difficulties further out where Derry players often went untracked during what was a nightmare second quarter for the home side.

Whenever Galway attacked they looked like scoring – often goal chances – and when they led by 1-5 to 0-4 at the end of the first quarter, they seemed pretty much on course to deliver the required home victory.

A super-slick Galway move in the third minute, that started with a Fiontán Ó Curraoin mark, ended with Danny Cummins flicking to the net following two really fast ball movements from Barry McHugh and Michael Daly.

Early on, Derry were all over the shop with goalkeeper Thomas Mallon struggling badly with short kick-outs. Galway points from Michael Daly, Danny Cummins, Barry McHugh, Gary Sice and Johnny Heaney  gave the impression that this was going to be a comfortable day for Galway.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Galway completely lost their grip on the midfield exchanges – with James Kielt especially and Conor McAtamney dominating for Derry. That possession switch was to deliver a rich reward for Derry before half-time.

The points flowed freely for Damien Barton’s side but the sirens really started to blare for Galway when a quick Derry move cut apart the Galway defence in the 22nd minute.

Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune.