Good start was half the battle for Galway

Galway took a grip on the game from the start and youngsters Niall Burke (free) and Conor Cooney had a brace of scores within two minutes. They managed to stay ahead of Anthony Daly's men but, significantly, failed to shake off the resilient Dubs who always managed to stay tucked in just a point of two behind the leaders for the first half. David Collins did well to stop a low free by Paul Ryan after James Skehill was penalised when charging into a ruck of players instead of avoiding them, and the goalkeeper then saved at the expense of a 65 which Paul Ryan converted. The normally reliable Dublin freetaker also missed a few placed balls that he would usually steer between the posts. Galway captain Fergal Moore, who was again inspirational, brilliantly stopped another attack with a timely interception to deny Shane Stapleton in the first half. Paul Ryan still had three frees on target during that first half and with wing-forward Conor McCormack notching two from play, 2011 Young Player of the Year Liam Rushe making it 0-3 to 0-2 early on and wing-back Shane Durkin driving over a spectacular effort from his own half of the field, the visitors had accumulated 0-8, only one adrift of Galway, at the break. The Maroon and Whites were moving well with their defence determined and fast into the tackle. Newcomers Niall Donoghue, in particular, and corner-backs Declan Connolly and Ger Halloran were doing well while captain Fergal Moore blotted out Ryan O'Dwyer and Liam Rushe was replaced after failing to make any impact against David Collins. David Burke and Cyril Donnellan, who scored a fine point after a run at the Dublin defence, were making their presence felt at midfield but although the forwards also worked very hard they found scores hard to come by and were reliant on the accurate Niall Burke who with his free-taking and striking from play accounted for 0-5 of Galway's nine points at the break. The promising duo of Conor Cooney (2) and James Regan also scored during that period but it was in the third quarter that Galway finally began to move clear after some early resistance by the Dubs. A good point by James Regan was answered by Danny Sutcliffe and one from a Niall Burke free after he had been fouled was followed by a Paul Ryan free that made it 0-11 to 0-10 before Galway surged into a seven-point lead. They did so by getting seven of the next eight scores, all from play, with Conor Cooney (2), Niall Burke (2), Iarla Tannian, Damien Hayes and James Regan all delighting the Galway supporters with the quality of shooting from all angles and distances. Dublin could only muster one score from a Paul Ryan free. Indeed, Anthony Daly's men could only manage one point from play â€â€ from a midfielder â€â€ in the second half. With twelve minutes remaining, Galway held a 0-18 to 0-11 lead and were in a comfort zone but they didn't let up. Dublin freetaker Paul Ryan had been replaced after an erratic display, so Ryan O'Dwyer took over the placed ball duties and drove over two simple ones but Niall Burke who had been moved in to the edge of the square after giving a torrid time to centre-back Joseph Boland sent over one from play and then converted a 65 (that had been won by the persistence of sub Bernard Burke) from out on the touchline. It was a super strike by the young Oranmore-Maree man. Restricting Dublin to five points from play and 0-13 in total was a notable achievement for James Skehill and his defence but the team itself is by no means settled on any likely Championship formation with several places up for the taking. The coming weeks will see some more experimentation although survival in the top division is also of paramount importance. Goalkeeper James Skehill, apart from needlessly giving away a free, David Collins and Fergal Moore formed a strong defensive spine and seasoned players like Cyril Donnellan, Iarla Tannian and the workaholic Damien Hayes added leadership. None of the youngsters let themselves down with Niall Donoghue, Conor Cooney, sub Johnny Coen, the superb Niall Burke and James Regan all doing particularly well.