Galway overcome Offaly in Tullamore
Galway 1-24 Offaly 1-10 20 February 2011
Galway eased to a comfortable victory against Offaly at Tullamore on Sunday and for the second week in a row hit 1-24. Galway gave an assured performance with the base for victory laid in the first half against an Offaly side that proved a disappointment given their fine showing against Cork in the opening round of the league.
The winners landed ten points without reply between the 54th and 61st minutes to take complete control of proceedings. Joe Bergin grabbed a late consolation goal for the fourteen-man of Offaly. Offaly's prospects suffered a real setback when they had corner forward Cathal Parlon sent off for a second yellow card with half time approaching, though by that stage Galway had already gained a foothold on proceedings.
Galway led by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break which was significant as they had played into a strong breeze in the opening period, and their numerical superiority for the second period made life even more difficult fir the Leinster men.
An Aonghus Callanan goal in the third quarter put the visitors very much in the driving seat at 1-13 to 0-8 ahead on 50 minutes. Tannian's terrific pass sent Callanan through on goal, and he produced a smashing finish to leave goalkeeper James Dempsey with no chance. Ger Farragher was top scorer for the visitors, with another unerring exhibition of point-taking, as corner back Gerard O Halloran played the extra man role.
The victory leaves Galway top of the table, the their next game will provide the Tribesmen with a stern challenge as they visit Cork on March 6th. Cork showed commendable character to come within a point of Kilkenny in Nowlan Park and the repeat of last year’s league final should give a real indication of the true worth of both sides early in the season.
However, Galway’s injury woes show no sign of abating as both Ger Mahon and Tony Og Regan left the field with injuries, with the former looking the more serious of the two.
Galway: C Callanan, D. Collins, J. Lee, G. O’ Halloran, G. Mahon, T Og Regan, A. Cullinane (0-2), D. Barry, D. Burke (0-3), E. Ryan (0-4), A. Smith, G. Farragher (0-8, 6 frees, 1 S/c, 1 65), A. Callanan (1-0), I. Tannian (0-6), J. Coen (0-1). Subs: D. Hayes for Mahon inj, N. Healy for Regan inj, N. Cahalan for Coen inj, K. Kilkenny for Callanan, B. Murphy for Burke
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