NFL Division One B/Galway 4-12 Meath 0-11: On a sodden day in Salthill yesterday, Galway put on a floorshow worthy of high summer.
In a performance that carried echoes of their All-Ireland final deconstruction of Meath half a decade ago, they owned a match that will go down in local lore as the day Micheál Meehan struck four goals. That the Caltra sensation also had a shot fly off the crossbar in the first half meant the Meath defenders had plenty to think about as they headed back up the N4.
There was a hearty Royal presence in Pearse Stadium, but it was acknowledged this might have owed as much to the attractions of a March weekend under the neon lights of Salthill as to a Sunday afternoon following the league. Really, the visitors were given little to applaud and settled down to reluctantly admire the sumptuous movement of the Galway forward line.
All four of Meehan's humdingers came courtesy of Pádraic Joyce. The captain also put Seán Armstrong through on goal after just four minutes with a glorious dummy, allowing a low ball skip through his legs so the young Salthill man was clean through.
Armstrong didn't finish, but made up for it by striking three excellent points from play over the following hour. With Derek Savage zooming about the pitch with the intent of old, and plenty of ball coming in, Galway were all invention and movement.
The first goal came on 19 minutes, a swift transfer of passes between Savage, Meehan and Joyce, with Meehan fisting Joyce's perfectly placed hand-pass. That score gave Galway a 1-6 to 0-3 advantage and, although it was early, there was an unmistakable sense that Meath were seasick while still docked.
And, sure enough, things got worse when a tricky ball bounced off the chest of full back David Gallagher, which Mattie Clancy pounced on and kicked on for Joyce again to seek out his accomplice.
Meehan is such a consummate finisher there was no doubt, and though Meath reeled off three quick points, they trailed 2-8 to 0-7 at the break. Galway cooled it in the second half, but Meath could make little impression. Meehan beat his marker Niall McLoughlin off Joyce's pass on 48 minutes to hammer his third and an uncertain defence gifted Galway the last on 69 minutes - a simple flick-on by Joyce and a booming finish by the marksman.
The goals were a joy, but the general flair on a miserable day was a timely reminder that the Tribesmen have arguably the most lethal attacking force in Ireland.
"We have a fine attack," Peter Ford admitted. "And the great thing about them is that they work for each other. They don't care who gets the scores. Micheál got them today and another day he would be laying them on for someone else."
It says something given the front-of-house pyrotechnics that the best display of the day came from Paul Clancy. The Moycullen man again showed his versatility by stepping into midfield in place of the injured Niall Coleman and calmly directing proceedings, making a series of clever passes look so easy they went unnoticed.
If Galway are to go places this summer - and if their defence can acquire some old-fashioned cuteness they are capable of - Clancy is bound to have a big year. The question is where. He was very good at centre back last year and stood out in the middle here.
"Yeah, he was joking that soon he will be on the bench," laughed Forde. "He was giving out to me for moving him so much. But he was super today and he is one of those players you can put anywhere. We will have to see where he ends up. Centre forward may be his most natural position, but he doesn't care as long as he is around the middle."
Meath's misery was compounded when Brian Farrell - one of their more prominent attackers - was sent off on 58 minutes for a second booking. They continued to work hard, but never looked likely to produce one of their trademark, slow-burning, menacing comebacks.
Any team is capable of a poor league day and Meath probably won't read much into a drenched old Sunday in the west. But the discouraging aspect here was there were few evident leaders on the field. And it is a pity to think that Graham Geraghty was pulling pints for the United v Birmingham crowd when he might have been worrying the Galway back line, who could have spent the game texting their girlfriends for all the trouble they caused. Meath have mixed the good and the bad in this competition and this was certainly one of their more forgettable days.
Galway can look forward to welcoming the pick of the AllIreland club champions Salthill and still have an outside chance of making the play-offs. League days can be deceiving and the westerners still have weak spots, but they are motoring in the right directions.
And few counties travel with as much style as Galway.
GALWAY: A Keane; K Fitzgerald, F Hanley, A Burke (0-1); M Comer, D Blake, D Burke; P Geraghty, P Clancy; M Clancy, S Armstrong (0-4, 1 free), D O'Malley; M Meehan (4-0), P Joyce (0-4, 1 free), D Savage (0-3). Subs: T Costello for O'Malley (53 mins), C Feeney for Hanley (66 mins), C Bane for Armstrong (68 mins).
MEATH: B Murphy; C King, D Gallagher, N McLoughlin; J Donoghue, A Moyles, S Kenny (0-1); B Lynch, N Crawford; P Curran (0-2, 1 free), J Sheridan (0-3, 1 free), P Byrne; G Robinson, B Farrell (0-3, 1 free), M Doran (0-1). Subs: D Regan (0-1) for Byrne (30 mins), P Nugent for Moyles (49 mins), R Maloney for Curran (59 mins).
Referee: J White (Donegal).
