Derry 0-12 Galway 0-7:Derry got their campaign off to an encouraging start when they brushed aside a disappointing Galway at Pearse Stadium yesterday.
Galway opened brightly, but by half-time the wheels had come off and Derry dictated play in the second half, with the home side going 29 minutes at one stage without a score.
Derry took full advantage and with their full-forward line always threatening, they were able to put daylight between the sides.
The early stages suggested otherwise as Derek Savage clipped over a point after 50 seconds and Cormac Bane added another a couple of minutes later.
But Derry were much stronger physically and that started to have a big impact as they mopped up possession all over the field.
They scored four points without reply with wingback Liam Hinphey bursting forward to get them off the mark after six minutes and Conleth Gilligan landed a brace of points along with one from Paul Bradley to put them 0-4 to 0-2 ahead after 15 minutes.
Derry adopted a short-passing game out of defence and midfield before then launching long balls into the full-forward line and this worked extremely well.
Matthew Clancy, a late replacement for the injured Niall Coleman, kicked a fine point from the right for Galway, while wing back Michael Comer, one of the few Galway stars on the day, raced forward to level the match after 22 minutes.
But Derry, despite losing impressive midfielder Fergal Doherty, continued to dominate and Paddy Bradley put them into a lead they never lost when he landed one of the points of the game from the left wing.
Gilligan and Clancy exchanged points before the Galway pair of Barry Cullinane and Clancy and Derry wingback Paul Cartin were booked for an off-the-ball scuffle.
Paddy Bradley doubled Derry's lead in first-half stoppage time with a pointed free from the right to push them 0-7 to 0-5 to the good at the interval.
Derry scored four points without reply in the third quarter with Gilligan getting two of them from play, while Paddy Bradley and his brother Eoin also found the range to push them out of reach, 0-11 to 0-5, after 51 minutes.
DERRY: S O'Kane; K McGuckian, G O'Kane, J Keenan; P Cartin, SM Lockhart, L Hinphey (0-1); F Doherty, J Conway; R Wilkinson, C Gilligan (0-5, two frees), M Lynch; Paul Bradley (0-1), Paddy Bradley (0-4, two frees), E Bradley (0-1). Subs: Patsy Bradley for Doherty (inj, 23 mins); E Muldoon for Paul Bradley (56 mins); R McElhone for Lynch (68 mins).
GALWAY: P Doherty; D Burke, F Hanley, D Mullahy; N Coyne, D Blake, M Comer (0-1); B Cullinane, P Geraghty; M Clancy (0-2), J Fallon, J Bergin; D Savage (0-1), C Bane (0-2, one free), S Armstrong. Subs: N Joyce for Armstrong (49 mins); F Breathnach (0-1) for Geraghty (58 mins); F Burke for Clancy (inj, 65 mins); J Boylan for Fallon (67 mins).
Referee: P Russell (Tipperary).
