Galway not much the wiser after this

If this was a no-win situation for Galway then at least they broke even. For evidence of Derry's feeble resistance see accompanying scoring sequence, and for thoughts on Galway's limited lessons learned try to read on.

Straight in from their western frontier to a humid Croke Park, they quickly got busy and left all the heavy sweating to their opponents.

In the end they gave full indications that the three-month retreat has been put to good use, especially in the gelling of a smoother, more productive team than recent years.

Eugene Cloonan was once more at his most dangerous yet the support behind him was far more balanced. Kevin Broderick and Alan Kerins were hitting new heights, while Joe Rabbitte and Mark Kerins were more content with the run out.

David Tierney's domination at midfield was well abetted by young Richie Whelan, and his fellow debutant Derek Hardiman was part of a tight-lipped half back line. The appearance of Fergal Healy and Ollie Fahy added further impressions, so that tactically, Galway didn't put a foot wrong.

"In order to reach an All-Ireland semi-final we had to win a quarter-final. So it was good for us that we had to focus on this game, especially after what Derry did last year," said Galway coach Noel Lane.

"And it was a good dress rehearsal. I'm sorry it was so one-sided but Derry did fight until the end.

"We had some problems with the high balls Geoffrey McGonagle caught around the square, and you would prefer if he wasn't catching those. But that was his good play rather than our bad play."

Cloonan's first goal after three minutes and a succession of points from him, Kerins and Broderick soon made it a chase down a dead-end street for Derry. Any hope of a comeback, even with the threat posed by McGonagle and the second-half penalty for Oliver Collins, was vanquished.

Still, Lane could find some value in the excursion: "It was the team effort that I'm most proud of. They came up here with a job to do and took it very seriously. There was some great delivery from the half backs and midfield worked very hard as well. With that kind of supply the forwards are bound to come good."

His team trainer Michael McNamara, who seemed surprised to find himself so central to the post-match analysis, wasn't reading too much into the facile victory.

"Well I suppose that it does tell us our preparations are on target for the bigger challenge down the road," he said. "There is little more than that to be learned from this, and it's a pity Derry couldn't perform to their potential a little bit more. They seemed to be a little bit over-awed, and maybe that came from the focus that was on them."

McNamara was particularly satisfied with the accuracy of the forwards. "Of course, Eugene got a lot of scores, but they were all made from some wonderful passing and team efforts. That team performance did impress me and I think everyone would have been impressed by it. Galway for a lot of years have been known as a bunch of individuals who have difficulty putting a team performance together but today we saw the opposite."

Both men will also be delighted the youngsters in the team had passed the test. Corner forward Darren Shaughnessy, perhaps, had the most uneasy debut but there was nothing particular to worry about either.

Kilkenny though, are something to worry about.

"Kilkenny have set the standard this and that's there to be seen," said McNamara. "They are way ahead of the pack. Anyone with aspirations to win an All-Ireland will not just have to match that but get a little bit beyond it."

For Derry manager Kevin McNaughton, there would be no excuses. "They got off to the flying start and we were playing catch-up the whole way," he said. "The first 20 minutes were vital but we just didn't get that start. We could have got another penalty at least.

"But there was no question of pressure. We just didn't play particularly well, but I don't think the scoreboard reflects how hard we tried." A small step forward for Galway, then, a huge set back for Derry.

Substitutes: Galway - F Healy for A Kerins (half-time), D Hayes for Shaughnessy (49 mins), B Higgins for Moore (57 mins), O Fahy for M Kerins (62 mins); Derry - Gary Biggs for Downey (29 mins), R Lynch for Ward (48 mins), D McGrellis for J O'Dwyer (60 mins), R Kennedy for McCloskey and F McEldowney for M Collins (both 62 mins).

Scoring sequence: (Galway in bold)

2nd - Cloonan free 0-1, 0-0

3rd - Cloonan goal 1-1, 0-0

4th - Rabbitte point 1-2, 0-0

7th - McGonigle free 1-2, 0-1

9th - Cloonan point 1-3, 0-1

10th - O'Dwyer point 1-3, 0-2

11th - A Kerins point 1-4, 0-2

12th - Shaughnessy point 1-5, 0-2

14th - O Collins point 1-5, 0-3

16th - Broderick goal 2-5, 0-3

18th - McGonigle free 2-5, 0-4

19th - Broderick point 2-6, 0-4

20th - Murray point 2-7, 0-4

20th - Gregory Biggs point 2-7, 0-5

21st - Cloonan point 2-8, 0-5

23rd - Cloonan point2-9, 0-5

23rd - Kerins point 2-10, 0-5

25th - Cloonan free 2-11, 0-5

26th - Gregory Biggs point 2-11, 0-6

30th - McGonigle free 2-11, 0-7

HALF-TIME: Galway 2-11, Derry 0-7

37th - O Collins goal penalty 2-11, 1-7

41st - Cloonan point 2-12, 1-7

43rd - Cloonan free 2-13, 1-7

45th - Healy point 2-14, 1-7

46th - Gregory Biggs point2-14, 1-8

47th - Broderick goal 3-14, 1-8

48th - Cloonan free 3-15, 1-8

50th - Broderick point 3-16, 1-8

50th - Cloonan free 3-17, 1-8

55th - Cloonan goal 4-17, 1-8

55th - McGrellis point 4-17, 1-9

57th - Cloonan free 4-18, 1-9

60th - Healy point 4-19, 1-9

64th - Hodgins free 4-20, 1-9

64th - Conway free 4-20, 1-10

68th - Broderick point 4-21, 1-10

70th - Cloonan free 4-22, 1-10

71st - Kennedy point 4-22, 1-11

72nd - Rabbitte point 4-23, 1-11

FULL-TIME: Galway 4-23, Derry 1-11