Galway 3-36 Westmeath 1-17
Henry Shefflin got the response he was looking for as Galway produced a stunning display of shooting to dish out a 25-point hammering to a Westmeath side who had given Kilkenny a run for their money for three-quarters of their game last week.
It was always going to be difficult for Westmeath to reproduce that level of performance, not least as they were facing a Galway side who were still seething from letting a winning hand slip in Wexford in their opening game.
But now Shefflin will face his native Kilkenny next Sunday in Salthill with three points in the bag after a display of awesome shooting which saw 13 players hit the target despite windy conditions at Pearse Stadium.
This one was done and dusted by the 13th minute as Galway used the wind to build a 1-8 to 0-1 lead when Cianan Fahy got their first goal.
Ten players hit the target for Galway in the opening half as they built up a 2-25 to 0-8 interval lead. Killian Doyle shot seven points for Westmeath, six of them frees and one from a '65, while former Galway player Davy Glennon got their only point from play.
Both midfielders and all six forwards hit the target from play by the 16th minute, while wing-backs Padraic Mannion and Fintan Burke also hit the target from distance in an awesome display of shooting.
Westmeath, who pushed Kilkenny last weekend for long periods, just had no answer as Galway were clearly fired up.
They had two points on the board inside 50 seconds and that set the trend for the opening half. They shot 2-20 from their first 23 shots before recording half a dozen wides before the interval.
Galway got their second goal with a quality move, with Darren Morrissey starting it at the back before David Burke hit a superb long crossfield which Brian Concannon slipped into the path of Joseph Cooney and he raced through to finish superbly after 18 minutes.
Westmeath rallied somewhat after the restart with Derek McNicholas getting in for a goal after 40 minutes, while Killian Doyle’s accuracy kept chipping away at the lead.
But Galway pulled away again and Conor Cooney blasted home a 56th minute penalty after he himself was fouled by Robbie Grevoille, who was black-carded as the Tribesmen ran out easy winners.
Leaving Cert student Gavin Lee came off the bench to shoot a couple of points as Galway ran out easy winners.
Galway: É Murphy; J Grealish, Daithí Burke, D Morrissey (0-1); P Mannion (0-2), G McInerney, F Burke (0-1); David Burke (0-3), C Mannion (0-4); T Monaghan (0-1), C Cooney (1-8, 1-0 pen, 5f), J Cooney (1-5); E Niland (0-2), C Fahy (1-4), B Concannon (0-2). Subs: T Killeen for P Mannion (half-time) K Cooney for Monaghan (52), G Lee (0-2) for Niland (59), É Burke (0-1) for C Cooney (63), J Coen for Daithi Burke (71).
Westmeath: C Bracken; C Shaw, T Doyle, J Bermingham (0-1); A Craig, R Greville, J Galvin; C Boyle, K Regan (0-1); D Glennon (0-1), D McNicholas (1-0), J Boyle; K Doyle (0-14, 12f, 1'65), N O'Brien, N Mitchell. Subs: C Kane for C Boyle, O McCabe for McNicholas (51), A Cox for T Doyle (52), J Gillen for (58), S McGovern for O'Brien (65).
Referee: P Murphy (Carlow).
