Gaillimh v Dhún na nGall

[GalwayBayBoy]

Galway Team to Play Donegal
         
Paul Doherty       
Niall Coyne       
Finian Hanley       
Damien Burke       
Gareth Bradshaw       
Diarmuid Blake       
Darren Mullahy       
Joe Bergin       
Mark Lydon       
Sean Armstrong       
Padraig Joyce       
Cormac Bane       
Damien Dunleavy       
Michael Meehan       
Nicky Joyce

[An Fhairche Abu]

Nothing on this match and then two threads in the space of exactly a minute! 

I've done the decent thing and removed the other one, if only it was as easy to remove some of the questionable posts on the board...

[RMDrive]

Donegal have stuck with the same team that started against Dublin. With Galway flying and Donegal struggling to find any form, it's hard to expect anything but a comfortable win for Galway.

Michael Boyle
Eamon McGee
Neil McGee
Paddy McDaid
Eoin Wade
Raymond Sweeney
Kevin Cassidy
Ciaran Bonner
Christy Toye
Brendan Boyle
Conall Dunne
Rory Kavanagh
Michael Murphy
Stephen Griffin
David Walsh

[GalwayBayBoy]

Nothing on this match and then two threads in the space of exactly a minute! 

I've done the decent thing and removed the other one, if only it was as easy to remove some of the questionable posts on the board...

I think you were 57 seconds ahead of me AFA. The old arthritis on my typing finger most be slowing me down.

Usually Duine Eile beats all of us with the team announcements.

[Duine Eile]

Duine Eiles a very busy woman these days!Not as prompt as I used to be with the announcements. 
Strong enough team on paper, Damien Burke back in the corner, better option than having Declan Meehan back there anyway. Still no Barry Cullinane interesingly, he's no world beater but surely we should be trying to develop the partnership between himself and Joe, personally I don't think Mark Lydon is up to it at this level and can't see him being there come championship. I think we can beat Donegal on Sunday all going well, providing we don't get complacent. Donegal are bound to come out with all guns blazing after their loss to Dublin last week, if our forwards keep their form of late we should come through by a couple of points.

[Donegal Danny]

All Galway supporters don't worry you will beat us out the park. Unfortunately Donegal aren't going that well at present although i still have hope come the summer when we get a few of our better players back. Just to emphasises how weak we are take this theory on board. 1.The league is usually used by a new manager to try out new player and use his whole panel of player, 2.  When a team is defeated in a league game the manager usually makes a few changes for the next game(Tyrone make 8 this weekend) but poor old Donegal just go and name the same team that only managed 1 point in the first half at home to Dublin last week. Honestly we don't have alot of choice but even Roper would be a change in the Half Forwards for the better. The big pitch in Salthill will suit the good Galway forwards and PJ will think Xmas has come early if Ray Sweeney picks him up but i feel Cassidy will play at 6.

[mouview]

Galway and Donegal have a recent history of good league clashes (remember the epic in Tuam in '98 after the AI?) and the men from the North West usually give a good account of themselves. It was probably hard for Sammon to change a winning team (U-21s apart); Lydon mightn't be everyone's choice but his workrate v Tyrone, in common with all his teammates, was first rate. Declan Meehan was probably under threat but Damien Burke won't get too many more chances I feel as he's prone to fouling. FB line still needs settling I think..

[Duine Eile]

Good win for Galway today, faded badly at the start of the 2nd half again but did enough to hang on in the end.Still no goals conceded. No yelow cards in this game either. Special praise has to go to Mike Meehan, he was absolutely awesome today. Donegal weren't at he races at all in the first half but got some brilliant scores in the second half and played some good football. Good Galway win but this habit they've gotten into of coming out and playing like the hounds of hell until half time and then sit back until midway through the second half and try to pick up the pace again, we've gotten away with it so far but against Kerry we'd be beaten out the gate.

1. Paul Doherty: His kick outs were shocking at times, made a couple of good interceptions but looks like Faherty could be back between the sticks for the next game. 

2. Niall Coyne: Quiet enough, subbed eventually, think Kieran Fitz will reclaim this spot for championship

3. Finian Hanley: Good game, stuck to his man like glue, played well

4. Damien Burke: Played well for his first game back, didn't commit any silly fouls he's prone to doing and marked his man well

5. Gareth Bradshaw: He's like a young Dec Meehan, he can mark his man, clear his lines and he's not afraid to take a score or two, he's made the no.5 shirt his own

6. Diarmuid Blake: Had a good game, dealt with everything that came his way.

7. Darren Mullahy: Not his best display by a long shot, had a poor game by his own standards and was subbed before half time

8. Joe Bergin: Had a brilliant game, made some great catches and kicked a couple of great points

9. Barry Cullinane: Had a good game, worked well with Joe, still prone to lashing out though, had a couple of incidents today

10. Sean Armstrong: Came in for some rough treatment at the hands of the Donegal lads, got an awful knock to the head in the first half but soldiered on and had a good game

11. Padraic Joyce: He was quiet enough but had a good enough game, not sure what he scored but used the ball well as always and set up some good scores

12. Mark Lydon: Not sure why Cormac Bane didn't play but Lydon took up his position in the half forwards, he was ok, still don't think he's good enough though

13. Damien Dunleavy: Played most of the game around midfield and played a blinder, had the first score of the game after only seconds

14. Mike Meehan: Absolutely phenomenal, think he scored something like 1-09, man of the match by a mile, some of his point taking is unbelievable

15. Nicky Joyce: Was lively enough and scored one big point but had to go off with a back injury midway through the first half, hopefully nothing too serious

Fiachra Breathnach: Woeful, ran down blind alleys, held on to the ball too long, can't understand how he gets so much game time

Dec Meehan: Did brilliantly when he came on, fantastic option to have to bring on

Matt Clancy: Glad to see him back, one of our best players last year, hopefully we'll see more of the same this year.

David Reilly: Wasn't on long but wasn't afraid to go looking for the ball, haven't seen a lot of him but he looks like a good prospect.

By the way, any of the Galway lads know who does the announcements in Pearse Stadium? According to him Galway were playing Roscommon, Derry played two matches in the league this weekend and he had awful trouble trying to figure out which player was going on as a sub and who was coming off, kept the crowd entertained anyway!

[Zulu]

What was the crowd like at this game, yer playing cracking football, are the Galway public finally getting behind the team?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Match report from HS.


Galway continue to set the pace at the top of Division One following a 1-16 to 0-12 defeat of Donegal in Round Four at Pearse Stadium.

Damien Dunleavy opened the hosts' account after 17 seconds before promising youngster Michael Murphy levelled on four minutes. But the irrepressible Micheal Meehan restored the Tribe lead. Sean Armstrong's goal effort flew wide as the Connacht county continued to pile forward.

Nicky Joyce's towering kick was followed by further scores from Meehan and Dunleavy as Liam Sammon's men powered into a four-point lead, 0-5 to 0-1 after 16 minutes.

Man of the Match Meehan got the only goal of the game - his third of the league thus far - and his partner-in-crime Armstrong was also amongst the scores as the winners led by 1-7 to 0-2 after 23 minutes.

Meehan was denied a second goal by Paul Durcan but Galway were running riot with points from Meehan (2) and Gareth Bradshaw to lead convincingly. They tagged on one more to hold a twelve-point ascendancy, 1-11 to 0-2, at the break.

Galway got a standing ovation as they left the field at half time.

Meehan took his tally to 1-6 before Christy Toye and Bradshaw exchanged points.

Donegal had the assistance of the wind in the second half and they gradually closed the twelve-point gap to seven, 1-14 to 0-10, with twelve minutes left on the clock. Ciaran Bonner (2) and David Walsh were on target with three good Donegal scores, as was Meehan once more for the Tribe.

After Donegal got their seventh successive score, Galway got their first point in 20 minutes from Meehan, who added another as the hosts eased over the finishing line.

[Duine Eile]

Don't know what the official attendance was but there was a nice crowd there alright, good few from Donegal too. yeah the notoriously fickle Galway support seems to be building with every game. We're going well at the moment, wouldn't be getting too carried away yet though, we were doing well at this stage last year and we derailed against Kerry.  We're heading in the right direction alright but how far we've come is hard to tell yet.

[Zulu]

With the football yer playing ye should be hottest ticket in town.

[An Fhairche Abu]

Four wins from four, have played some great stuff at times, no goals conceded, it's going very well so far for the Galway footballers in 2009.

Bit of a wind blowing towards the city end of Pearse Stadium today which Galway had in the 1st half but it was good conditions for a game of football in general.

Donegal made 4 changes to their stated lineup with Paul Durkin, Brian Roper, Colm McFadden and Leon Thompson coming in to start.

Galway were out of the blocks fast with a Dunleavy point after less than a minute. It was a sign of things to come for the half as Galway totally dominated proceedings with a strangle hold on midfield and 90% of the breaking ball.

Donegal were totally at sea in the first half and I don't think you could really single out any of their players as going too well. Murphy got a great solo score as a reply to Galways opener but that was the highlight in the opening 35 for them. 1-11 to 0-2 at half time but it's hard to really label the 1st half Galway performance as great simply because Donegal were so bad.

Donegal were much better in the 2nd half however, with the wind behind them they rattled 7 or 8 points on the bounce while Galway lost a lot of their shape all around the field and went 20 minutes without a score. Donegal got a better return at midfield and this coupled with some really sloppy Galway play led to the numerous point taking opportunities that Donegal certainly made the most of.
Joyce had a lot of uncharacteristic misplaced passes in the 2nd half, there was a large number of fumbles by several Galway players in possession and although the result was never in doubt it was the same story as the Dublin game in that a big 1st half lead made the Galway players lower the performance level so that the opposition could get a run of scores.
The yellow card for Neil McGee was deserved as he ploughed into Bradshaw after he had fisted over a point in the 2nd half although Brian Roper should have also got a yellow card today really, I lost count amount of times he fouled Galway players over the course of the game.

In terms of the Galway players, Duine Eile has called it fairly well in her post but I must mention Michael Meehan's performance as he was simply unmarkable today, 1-9 (1-6 from play I think) is a huge total in any match and not alone that, he also set up a number of other scores including a nice one handed lay off to Dunleavy while the Donegal full back was absolutely hanging out of him.

On a less savoury note, I didn't see which scut on the Donegal team belted Meehan off the ball leaving him on his knees just after the start of the 2nd half but it's a testament to the sheer quality of the man and an indictment of the Donegal player that he had to resort to the likes of that to try and stop him.

Derry away up next and they had a very impressive performance against the Dubs in Parnell Park by all accounts. It's another big test for Galway but we'll give Derry a good game I've no doubt.

[Duine Eile]

Was there one of the Donegal players yellow carded? Missed that in all the excitement. Meehan was subjected to a few off the ball 'tackles' alright. Asks the age old question, what's the point in having umpires if they can't see things happening right in front of their noses.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Irish Indo

Galway 1-16 Donegal 0-12

Monday March 16 2009

Galway's perfect start to the league continued at Pearse Stadium yesterday as Donegal were put to the sword in a devastating open half.

Galway led 1-11 to 0-2 at half-time having played with the wind and, while Donegal rallied in the final quarter, it did little more than put some respectability on the scoreboard. Galway picked off scores from all angles but the tormentor-in-chief was full-forward Michael Meehan.

He has been in devastating form and Donegal were yesterday demolished by the Caltra sharp-shooter. Meehan scored 1-9, with 1-5 of that coming in the opening half as Galway took the game to John Joe Doherty's men.

"We were just not able to handle Michael Meehan in the opening half," admitted Doherty afterwards.

All three members of the Donegal full-back line took turns in the first half at trying to curtail Meehan but none enjoyed any success.

Galway operated a two-man full-forward line and Meehan revelled in the open spaces.

Meehan left his mark early and often, rounding Neil McGee after six minutes to shoot over after Damien Dunleavy got the first of his two points after just 14 seconds.

A Michael Murphy point was the only Donegal score in the opening quarter and when Meehan was not scoring he was setting up Nicky Joyce and Dunleavy as Galway led 0-6 to 0-1 after 19 minutes.

Eoin Wade soloed upfield to pick off a point for Donegal but the reprieve was brief as Meehan kicked another from play before blasting to the net after taking a pass from Padraig Joyce.

Galway finished the half in style as Meehan set up Joe Bergin to give them a 1-11 to 0-2 interval lead.

The introduction of Ciaran Bonner gave Donegal strength around the middle of the field and they rallied strongly.

"We will take the positives out of the game and the second-half display was important to us," said Doherty. "But we struggled to match Galway's physicality and that left us coming from a long way back," he added.

A free from Colm McFadden and a '45' from Michael Murphy boosted Donegal before Meehan hit another to put Galway 1-14 to 0-5 in front after 48 minutes.

But then Donegal rallied with Bonner kicking three superb points as Donegal landed seven points without reply in a great spell to leave it 1-14 to 0-12 with four minutes remaining.

Manager Liam Sammon said he was not surprised by the Donegal response. "We were never going to keep it at the level of the first-half. Donegal are a good side, they came back well against Dublin, and we knew they would hit back against us," said Sammon.

Notions of a comeback were quickly dispelled by Meehan as he kicked two more points and Galway maintained their 100pc start.

SCORERS -- Galway: M Meehan 1-9 (0-5f); G Bradshaw; D Dunleavy 0-2 each; J Bergin; S Armstrong; N Joyce 0-1 each. Donegal: C Bonner 0-3; C Toye; M Murphy (1 '45); E Wade 0-2 each; S Griffin; D Walsh; C McFadden (f) 0-1 each.

Galway -- P Doherty; N Coyne, F Hanley, D Burke; G Bradshaw, D Blake, D Mullahy; J Bergin, B Cullinane; S Armstrong, P Joyce, M Lydon; D Dunleavy, M Meehan, N Joyce. Subs: D Meehan for Mullahy (25); F Breathnach for N Joyce (26); M Clancy for Breathnach (48); G Sice for Coyne (49); D Reilly for Lydon (63)

Donegal -- M Boyle; E McGee, N McGee, P McDaid; E Wade, R Sweeney, K Cassidy; R Kavanagh, C Toye; B Roper, C Dunne, D Walsh; C McFadden, M Murphy, L Thompson. Subs: M Maguire for Sweeney (ht); C Bonner for Dunne (ht); J Gallagher for N McGee (y/c 42); S Griffin for Thompson (47); R Bradley for Murphy (55).