PADRAIC JOYCE RIGHTLY described it as the best first-half display of his reign. 

Galway’s demolition of Derry in that period, albeit added by a strong breeze, saw them score 3-8, of which 3-6 arrived from play.

That’s a fair tally to put up against a Rory Gallagher coached outfit inside 35 minutes. Derry don’t give away goals easily – they hadn’t even conceded one in the previous five rounds.

The Tribesmen were 13 points clear at half-time. They eased up a little after the break, losing Paul Conroy to a red card and Owen Gallagher to a black, and eventually prevailed by 11.

Of course, Derry were missing key forward Shane McGuigan. But they hadn’t lost in 12 games and were still expected to provide a stern test. 

What was billed pre-game as a promotion showdown between the two best sides in the second tier, was surprisingly one-sided. 

That Galway produced such a scintillating attacking display without their talisman Shane Walsh, was even more unexpected. 

The hemmed in Derry on their kick-outs, lording the air waves and won the battle on the ground. 

“Galway got a couple of goals from turnovers and our kickouts. They gave us a good lesson in it,” admitted Derry boss Gallagher. Had their finishing been better, they’d have added another few goals too. 

After a difficult first two years under Joyce, things appear to be finally falling into place for the Tribesmen. In 2020 their electric start to the season came to a dead stop due to Covid. Their first league game back seven months later saw Mayo score 3-23 and dish out an unmerciful 15-point beating to their rivals.

Joyce later admitted the squad never fully recovered from that setback. They reached the Connacht final without playing a game, getting a semi-final bye over Sligo, before they lost a cagey game to Mayo in an empty Salthill.

Last year they suffered relegation from Division 1. In the Connacht final at Croke Park, James Horan’s men trailed by five points at the interval but outscored Galway by 2-8 to 0-3 in the second-half. First-half injuries to Ribert Finnerty, Sean Kelly and Shane Walsh badly hampered their challenge. Even still, the nature of their second-half fade-out was deeply concerning.

There were question marks locally over the direction Galway were taking under Joyce. Two knock-out provincial championships had ended in defeat to Mayo, who went on to reach the All-Ireland final both seasons. 

Joyce’s stated ambition of lifting the Sam Maguire during his reign looked like it was more fanciful than realistic. 

But now, finally, the Joyce era is up and running in Galway. 

Galway manager Padraic Joyce. Lorcan Doherty / INPHO Lorcan Doherty / INPHO / INPHO

They’re the only team across all four divisions with a 100% record, having won six from six. They’re the top scorers (13-84) and have the highest scoring difference (+46) in the country.

Of course, it can be argued that Galway are a Division 1 standard team operating in Division 2 so we shouldn’t read too much into their current form. Nonetheless, they got the job done by securing promotion with a game to spare and now the focus turns to their noisy neighbours.

Perhaps being drawn against Mayo on 24 April in the Connacht quarter-final sharpened Galway’s focus at the outset of the league.

The addition of Cian O’Neill as coach has been a major turning point. The former Kildare manager was a key part of Tipperary hurling, Mayo and Kerry football set-ups, that regularly competed for All-Irelands, in a coaching capacity and brings a wealth of experience. 

Speaking on his Off the Ball podcast earlier this month, James O’Donoghue raved about working with O’Neill during his stint with the Kingdom.

“It was like ‘wow’….his coaching was different level. He promoted skill development straight away. He didn’t take anything for granted. He didn’t say, ‘These lads are good kickers or good passers.’ We went skills, skills, skills constantly.

“It was unreal training. Coupled with the speed and agility work – you get a serious bounce off it come the summer when you have that kind of work done. 

“He didn’t believe in cones. You’d never be waiting at a cone to get a ball or waiting in a line to get a kick. It was all very fluid stuff where you’d be constantly catching and kicking.

“There was no mad drills just constant touching of the ball and improving that way.”

The short gap to the championship meant Galway always had to hit the ground running and no doubt O’Neill’s background in strength and conditioning helped them on that side of things too.

Joyce’s aim for the league would have been to settle on a solid spine, to know his best team and a handful of subs capable of making an impact off the bench.

He has achieved all that.

As ever, Shane Walsh has led the Tribe attack. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

He found a role for Kieran Molloy in the full-back line. John Daly has returned from a long-term injury to settle into a commanding centre-back. Cillian McDaid finally looks to be living up to the potential that brought him to the AFL.

Matthew Tierney (scorer of 1-3 against Derry) continues to develop into an elite midfielder. Paul Conroy is enjoying some of his best form in the Galway jersey. In attack Walsh pulls the strings, with Robert Finnerty, Damien Comer other reliable scorers.

Antrim native Owen Gallagher has been a positive addition to the set-up and the decision to hand Sean Kelly the captaincy was a popular one. 

The primary concern for Galway, as the Mayo clash looms, centres around a defence that shipped 2-17 to Cork and 3-10 to Offaly. 

In the short-term, Joyce is likely to put out a second string against Roscommon next weekend. Beyond that, a Division 2 title will be up for grabs before they renew acquaintances with Mayo.

So far, so good. 

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!