Galway 1-12 Louth 0-11:Galway's revival continued apace as Peter Ford's men brushed aside Louth's challenge to record their fourth win on the trot in Dundalk yesterday.
The visitors were forced to play most of the second period with just 14 men after Barry Cullinane picked up his second yellow card seven minutes after the break. With a 1-7 to 0-5 lead, Galway were cruising before the midfielder saw red, but his colleagues held Louth at bay quite comfortably to all but secure a place in Division One next season.
Indeed, with Down at home in their last game next Sunday, Galway will be hotly fancied to reach the play-offs, despite losing their first two league games.
Louth started brightly and led by 0-3 to 0-1 after 15 minutes. But they were wasteful and indecisive during the same period and Galway soon wrestled the initiative to move 0-6 to 0-4 clear by the half-hour mark.
Nicky and Padraig Joyce were proving troublesome to Louth's defence and the pair were involved as Galway turned the screw on their hosts in first-half injury-time.
Padraig Joyce collected a long ball from Ja Fallon and found his namesake unmarked. The younger Joyce quickly found Michael Meehan who squeezed a low shot past Stuart Reynolds in the Louth goal, to earn his side a 1-6 to 0-4 half-time lead.
Nicky Joyce and Aaron Hoey exchanged points before Cullinane's dismissal, but Galway reacted brilliantly to that setback and enjoyed a 1-10 to 0-7 advantage by the 50 minute.
Louth looked set to make a game of it with three quick points in reply from Shane Lennon, Darren Clarke and John O'Brien and they even closed the gap to two with a Clarke free immediately after Derek Savage rattled the crossbar at the other end.
But Clarke's effort was to be the home side's last score and the Joyces helped themselves to another point apiece as Galway opened up a four-point lead with just three minutes remaining.
GALWAY: P Doherty; A Burke, F Hanley, D Burke; N Coyne, D Meehan, M Comer; J Bergin, B Cullinane; D Savage, Ja Fallon, C Bane (0-3); M Meehan (1-0), P Joyce (0-5, four frees), N Joyce (0-4, one free). Subs: K Fitzgerald for Burke (57 mins), P Geraghty for Savage (60 mins), M Clancy for Bane (67 mins).
LOUTH: S Reynolds; A Page, C Goss, J Carr; J O'Brien (0-1), P McGinnity, R Finnegan; P Keenan (0-1), R Carroll; C Grimes, JP Rooney (0-1), M Stanfield; A Hoey (0-3, one free), S Lennon (0-1), D Clarke (0-4, three frees). Subs: Mark Brennan for Grimes (35 mins), JJ Quigley for Stanfield (35 mins), M Farrelly for R Finnegan (ht), D Finnegan for McGinnity (43 mins), T O'Brien for Hoey (67).
Referee: A McAlynn (Derry)
