Galway 0-13 Westmeath 1-10
JOHN HESLIN LANDED a late pressure free to maintain Westmeath’s unbeaten start in Division Two.
Despite trailing by six at the break Westmeath staged a gutsy second half comeback to rescue a share of the spoils.
Galway, with Johnny Duane excellent at centre back, dominated vast chunks of an error strewn opening period.
Westmeath created a couple of goalscoring opportunities, but they weren’t clinical and Galway were that little bit slicker at the other end initially.
Michael Meehan did drag a goal chance wide, but despite that miss the Tribesmen were motoring well with Paul Conroy also providing a threat.
The locals were ahead 0-4 to 0-2 at the end of the first quarter and from then until the interval Galway hit four points without reply.
Conroy kicked two smashing efforts, while Micheal Boyle and Gary O’Donnell also split the uprights as Galway went in at the break with a decent 0-8 to 0-2 advantage.
Westmeath improved after the restart with Kieran Martin (2), Callum McCormack, and John Heslin clipping scores to trim the deficit.
Conroy replied with a delightful score for Galway, but Westmeath remained defiant and only trailed by two in the 54th minute.
Then Pat Flanagan’s charges hit the front when Denis Cooroon ended a sweeping move with a tidy goalscoring finish.
Callum McCormack added a Westmeath point, but Galway substitute Michael Martin rifled over two frees to restore parity.
Another Galway replacement Gareth Bradshaw nudged the Tribesmen into the lead, but Heslin ensured Pat Flanagan’s outfit nicked a draw.
Scorers for Galway: Paul Conroy (0-4), Michael Martin (0-3, 3fs), Michael Meehan (0-2, 2fs), Eoin Concannon (0-1), Gary O’Donnell (0-1), Micheal Boyle (0-1), Gareth Bradshaw (0-1).
Scorers for Westmeath: Kieran Martin (0-4, 2fs), Denis Cooroon (1-0), Denis Glennon (0-2), Callum McCormack (0-2), John Heslin (0-2, 1f).
Wexford 0-10 Derry 0-19
Wexford’s Joey Wadding and Sean McGoldrick of Derry. Credit:INPHO/Ryan Byrne
DERRY OVERPOWERED WEXFORD in this afternoon’s Allianz NFL Division 2 clash at Wexford Park.
The visitors claimed a comfortable nine-point victory as Wexford paid the price for missed goal chances.
Derry finished the match with 14 players as captain Mark Lynch was dismissed late on for a second bookable offence.
But that was the only black spot on a satisfactory afternoon for the Oak Leafers, who made the long trip home with maximum points.
Each line of the field, bar goalkeeper, made a scoring contribution for classy Derry.
And their matchwinning haul included a couple of real beauties from midfielders Patsy Bradley and PJ McCloskey.
Two points separated the teams at half-time but Wexford played in fits and starts and went 16 minutes without a score in the second half.
In that time, Derry tagged on six points to gain a firm stranglehold on proceedings.
Michael Furlong and Shane Roche went close to netting Wexford goals but Derry strolled to victory in the closing stages.
Wexford managed just four points in the second half – split evenly between play and placed balls.
- Report by Jackie Cahill
