Mickey Harte admits penalty was ket moment as Derry defeat Galway in Salthill

Galway 1-11, Derry 3-10

Mickey Harte admitted Derry’s blistering start in Salthill had almost worked against them after the Oak Leafers maintained their 100% start to 2024 with a five point victory that represents a significant step toward a pace in the Division One final.

Goals from Eoin McEvoy, Shane McGuigan (penalty) and Paul Cassidy made it four wins from four for Harte's men with results elsewhere conspiring to leave Derry four points clear of a chasing quartet of Dublin, Kerry, Tyrone and Mayo. Indeed only two points separate the second placed Dubs from bottom of the table Monaghan.

The only negative on another excellent afternoon for Derry was a worrying knee injury to Conor Doherty who will be assessed ahead of the visit of Dublin to Celtic Park next Saturday, but otherwise the Derry boss was content to pick up another victory.

"You don't like travelling home a distance from anywhere without league points and it was very important we got those because it takes the shine off the first three wins if you don't follow it up," explained the Oak Leaf manager.

"We made life hard for ourselves. We got off to a blistering start which, in the end, turned out maybe not a good thing because we rested on our laurels a bit and allowed them back into the game. At half-time it wasn't a great place to be only two up with the breeze that was out there.

"We had to work hard at half-time to get our heads round the fact that while it mightn't be as much of a score difference as we would have wanted, that didn't mean we couldn't do something about it and the players did; we’ve become a very good second half team.

"Over the last number of games we've actually played better second half than the first. I wouldn't like to be depending on that forever but it's worked this last few games."

An early Shane McGuigan free had Derry up and running and within five minutes Eoin McEvoy was accelerating on to an Ethan Doherty pass to pierce through the heart of the Galway defence and become the fourth Derry 'defender' to find the net in four league games. It was exactly the start the visitors wanted and while Robert Finnerty stemmed the tide with an eighth minute opener for the Tribe, Derry were in control.

That grip was weakened slightly by a rather harsh black card for Brendan Rogers for blocking the forward run of John Daly and when Daly then teed up Cein Darcy for a 25th minute goal, the game was back in the melting pot.

Conor Glass and Niall Loughlin efforts were then cancelled out by Finnerty (2) and Niall Daly before the recently returned Rogers clipped over the final score of the half to give his team a 1-05 to 1-07 interval lead.

Galway started he second half in determined mood forcing two quick saves out of Ryan Scullion but the game's key moment arrived five minutes in when Derry forced a turnover off Kieran Molloy which sent Diarmuid Baker in on goal. Baker got his shot off but only while being impeded by Molloy and even though the Steelstown man's shot split the posts, referee Derek O’Mahoney decided a goal scoring opportunity had been denied, pulling play back to award Derry a penalty and Molloy a black card. Up stepped McGuigan and the visitors were suddenly back in control.

Johnny Heaney (f) and Ciaran McFaul swapped scores before Donncha Gilmore maked his arrival off the bench with a point that took Derry's lead out to six at 1-06 to 2-09 on 50 minutes.

And Derry made the game safe five minutes later, Paul Cassidy the beneficiary of a flowing move that presented the half forward with the easiest finish he’ll have all year for 1-07 to 3-10. Remarkably, the goal would be Derry's final score of the game but Galway rarely threatened and afterwards Harte agreed the penalty had been a key moment.

"It was a big turning point," he agreed, "It was a very important because it epitomised what we said we needed to do in the second half, which was to be more engaging in the tackle, get our hands on them and not give Galway as much freedom or time on the ball which probably led to that error.

"I think it's the way the game is now," he added on the decision, "That if someone is through on a goal and they are fouled it's a black card and a penalty, that's the name of the game. It helped us but that's where it’s at and it was so, so important.

"We needed a cushion to give us the confidence to be able to play with more control and eke out another score or two. If you hadn't got that goal and they were pinging off a few scores then we were really on the back foot but we never really let them get into that comfortable position."

Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, S Mulkerrins; D McHugh, J Daly (0-1), K Molloy; D O’Flaherty (0-01), J Maher; J Heaney (0-01, 1f), C Darcy (1-0), C Sweeney; R Finnerty (0-5, 4f), N Daly (0-1), L Ó Conghaile. (Subs) S Kelly for Darcy, HT; J Glynn for Molloy, 52mins; C Ó Curraoin (0-2, 1f) for Ó Conghaile, 58mins; R Cunningham for Finnerty, 67mins; P Egan for Sweeney, 72mins.

Derry: R Scullion; C McCluskey, C McKaigue, D Baker; C Doherty, E McEvoy (1-00), P McGrogan; C Glass (0-3, 1m), B Rogers (0-1); E Doherty, C McFaul (0-1), Paul Cassidy (1-1, 1f); N Loughlin (0-1), S McGuigan (1-2, 1pen, 2f), D Cassidy. (Subs) N Toner for C Doherty (inj), 35mins; D Gilmore (0-1) for D Cassidy, 49mins; L Murray for Loughlin, 55mins; E Mulholland for P Cassidy, 64mins.

Referee: D O’Mahoney (Tipperary)