GALWAY...2-18 TYRONE...1-19: You'd have to have sympathy with live commentators. At half-time during yesterday's Allianz National Football League semi-final replay the press box at Pearse Stadium was like the back window of a car so uniform were the nodding heads. Ah yes, we gnomically agreed. Tyrone had no interest in this match. How could they with their championship debut due in a fortnight? Happily, we don't get to go public until the next day.

So the news is instead of a match destined to be added to the exclusive volume of league classics.

The boxed set of the drawn match and replay will stand surely the test of time. Even if the drama came in the form of two lop-sided halves, such was the quality of Galway's play and score-taking and the force of will shown by Tyrone that the overall impact was beyond impressive.

Throw in the faint edge that developed between the teams last week, and their status as leading exponents of different styles of football, and the reputation of the whole affair looks likely to endure.

Galway led by eight points at half-time and looked set to win by as much as they chose. Joe Bergin and Seán Ó Dómhnaill dominated the middle, and the wealth of possession ensured further riches up front.

As early as the third minute, Michael Donnellan was sprung by an accurate, long ball from the tireless Tommy Joyce, playing in his usual role as an auxiliary centrefielder. He controlled the ball, kept going and drop-kicked the ball into the net. From then on it was shooting-gallery time.

Micheál Meehan tortured Ciarán Gourley until Ryan McMenamin was called across from the other corner, and Pádhraic Joyce was elusive and menacing. That menace crystallised in the 13th minute.

Again it was Joyce's brother Tommy who drafted the plan. His long delivery found Pádhraic, who twisted his way past the cover, went to kick a point but, realising the wider possibilities, advanced on goal and rapped the ball into Pascal McConnell's net.

A boutique of designer points was whipped off the rails as Galway cut loose, and the damage to the holders would have been even greater by the break had Derek Savage (a late call-up for exam-tied Matthew Clancy) not put a tame penalty kick straight to McConnell.

"It was a brilliant performance and putting two back-to-back was even better," enthused Galway selector Pete Warren. "Tyrone came at us in the second half, as we knew they would. We said it at half-time that the pressure would come wave after wave, but we just needed to survive that."

Survival might have been the general goal, but it didn't look like things were going to plan when Tyrone opened up in the second half. It wasn't as if Mickey Harte had to make sweeping changes - Brendan Donnelly's substitution by Joe McCabe in order to curb John Devane's muscular influence was the only alteration - but the old instincts sprang to life once Tommy Joyce had fly-hacked Galway into a nine-point lead within seconds of the restart.

Seán Cavanagh came into it strongly at centrefield, Philip Jordan shrugged off an indifferent campaign to lead a half-back revival, and although a few wides were posted the scores started to come.

In the 49th minute, Cavanagh, picked out by Enda McGinley, careered in to slip a goal past Alan Keane and the margin was down to three, 2-10 to 1-10.

Brian Dooher had located his A game and was sweeping all around the field and kicked three points for emphasis. As Tyrone's game tightened, the aimless, wasteful ball use of the first half disappeared, and with it for long spells went the challenge from Galway.

"It was a worry because the momentum was gone," said Warren, "but we knew that once we got a score back we'd settle. It was late coming, but when Michael Donnellan kicked that free we never let up after that."

The reversal of Galway's decline wasn't quite as simple as that, but Donnellan's 63rd-minute free did equalise the score and set up an intense finale. It mightn't really have suited Tyrone to have kept going to the well for another week, but their instinct is to win matches, especially close matches.

Twice more they took the lead and twice more Galway responded, with the final score of regulation time a remarkable point engineered from nothing in the tightest of corners by a well-marked Pádhraic Joyce.

"We played better with the breeze and knew it was going to be harder facing it for the final 10 minutes," said Harte afterwards. "It took such an effort to get back into the game that we were always going to feel it in extra-time. If we'd taken any of those wides in the second half we could have gone on to win, but that's all history."

In extra-time Galway looked livelier, though either side could have won. Owen Mulligan, ineffective for long periods in the half-forward line, nearly flashed in a goal at the end of the first period of additional time, but, equally, Joyce had moments of uncharacteristic waywardness at the start of the final period.

The match was won by a couple of exquisitely worked points, fashioned by swift breakouts from the back from Micheál Meehan and Joe Bergin and finished by Nicky and Tommy Joyce. An equally striking point from Donnellan wrapped it up, before Mark Harte, flawless from the dead ball all afternoon, got one back for Tyrone.

GALWAY: A Keane; M Comer, G Fahey, K Fitzgerald; D Meehan, P Clancy (0-1), S de Paor (capt; 0-1); J Bergin, S Ó Dómhnaill; D Savage, M Donnellan (1-2), J Devane (0-2); M Meehan (0-2), P Joyce (1-6, three points from frees), T Joyce (0-3). Subs: N Joyce (0-1) for Savage (56 mins).

TYRONE: P McConnell; R McMenamin, C Gormley, C Gourley; B Donnelly, G Devlin, P Jordan; K Hughes, S Cavanagh (1-1); B Dooher (capt; 0-3), B McGuigan, O Mulligan (0-2); M Harte (0-9, eight frees), E McGinley (0-1), C McCullagh (0-2). Subs: J McMahon (0-1) for Donnelly (28 mins); C Holmes for Hughes (half-time); D Carlin for Gormley (start of extra-time).

Referee: M Collins (Cork).