Pat Spillane has praised Padraic Joyce for taking the "shackles" off Galway and allowing them to play with more attacking freedom.

Galway came from seven points down to beat Donegal in the Allianz Football League on Sunday with both of their goals coming from corner-backs Johnny Heaney and Sean Kelly.

The win puts the Tribesmen level on points with Dublin and Tyrone at the top of Division One.

"The shackles have been taken off the Galway players." Spillane told Allianz League Sunday.

"They are playing with a lot more freedom, they're kicking the ball and playing a more attacking style of football.

"And when we talk about the need for top counties to have attackers, they have class. Damien Comer is back, Ian Burke is ready to come in, Shane Walsh is a magician."

Galway came from seven points down to defeat Donegal in Letterkenny

Galway will look to build on their positive start when they face Tyrone at Tuam Stadium on Sunday and Ciarán Whelan says they will be confident of getting a result after their performances in the opening three rounds of the league.

"It’s still February and what we’ve seen from Monaghan and Galway is, under new management, they have some momentum coming into the year and probably have a bit more work done than other teams," said Whelan.

"To go up to Letterkenny and get a victory – it’s a big result. And they probably should have stole a victory down in Kerry last week as well.

"They are the story of the year so far, playing a different brand of football under Padraic Joyce, and there’s definitely a lot of optimism."

Conor Gleeson leaves the pitch after being black-carded

Galway had goalkeeper Conor Gleeson black-carded during the first half against Donegal when he upended Jamie Brennan inside the area.

Instead of putting an outfield player in goal, Joyce opted to sacrifice two substitutions as he took off forward Finnian Ó Laoí for goalkeeper Ronan Ó Beoláin, with the former then returning after 10 minutes.

"As the year progresses and we get to championship football, depth is hugely important and you need your 20 men," said Whelan.

"If your keeper picks up a black card in the first half you'll lose two substitutions, or coming into the latter part of a game, you may not have two substitutions left.

"Are managers going to start training outfield players to be back-up goalkeepers? That remains to be seen but it’s an interesting dynamic on the rules and is one that could catch teams later on in the year."