Galway's forwards showed no sign of suffering from an All-Ireland hangover as they scored 5-11 against Westmeath in the annual Goal Challenge at Tuam on Wednesday. However, their defence were not as tuned in to the game, conceding 5-11, as the match ended in a diplomatic and highly entertaining draw.
Almost 10,000 turned out for the typically light-hearted clash, and there was no surprise when Westmeath, who had pushed Meath so close twice during this season's campaign, took the game to their hosts. Indeed, they stormed into a 2-06 to 0-03 lead inside the first quarter thanks to two goals from JP Casey, but goals from Alan Kerins, Tommy Joyce and Joe Bergin levelled the scoring at 3-4 to 2-7.
Westmeath underage star PJ Ward added another goal to give the visitors the advantage at the interval, but a plethora of second half substitutes saw the game lose a lot of its urgency, with Galway 'keeper Alan Kerins even managing a dubious point after Kevin Walsh had helped himself to 1-01.
Westmeath manager Luke Dempsey saw a Fergal Murray goal hand the visitors the initiative once again, but Gary Fahey cancelled that out with another Galway goal, and a series of points from The Tribesmen edged them ahead going into the final minutes. However, PJ Ward's goal brought Westmeath back into contention and two late points from Cathal Keane and Ward gave the Leinster side a deserved draw in an entertaining encounter in front of a buoyant home crowd.
Filed by Shane Murray
