Allianz Football League Division One

GALWAY 1-14 MEATH 1-12

By Paul Keane at Pairc Tailteann, Navan

Captain Shane Walsh capped a thrilling comeback from Galway in Navan with two late points to secure their third consecutive win in Division 1, moving them within touching distance of a final spot.

It's desolation for defeated Meath, however, who are now officially relegated after their fifth defeat in a row.

Andy McEntee's Royal County got off to a great start and led by eight points at the half-hour mark but couldn't hold on for what would have been their first win over Division 1 opposition since the 2014 Championship.

Walsh hit 0-7 in total for Galway including the last two points of the game which settled it.

Paul Conroy had a huge game for the Tribesmen too, scoring 0-4 as a sub and helping to set up Ronan Steede for his 40th minute goal.

Galway's initial plan was to pick up in Navan where they left off last weekend in Tuam, beating Tyrone with ease, but they were overwhelmed by a strong Meath start.

With 31 minutes played, Galway had only registered one point, a Michael Daly effort in the 10th minute.

Meath were aided by a stiff wind but were also hungrier and more efficient and raced into a 1-6 to 0-1 lead after half an hour.

James Conlon, the small but speedy and ultra sharp corner-forward, scored three of those points for Meath from play.

Ethan Devine struck for their goal in the 16th minute, putting Meath 1-3 to 0-1 ahead at that stage.

It was a fine goal as Meath poured forward in numbers to support full-back Conor McGill's burst out of defence and Bryan McMahon eventually fed Devine who blasted low and hard from the left to find the net.

Midfielder Bryan Menton added a point and Galway native Oisin O'Brien was also on the mark for the 2019 Leinster finalists in a blitzkrieg start.

Galway, with three wins from four beforehand, came back strongly into the game before half-time with four unanswered points to trail by just 1-6 to 0-5 at the interval.

Skipper Walsh converted three frees in a row and Eamonn Brannigan closed out the first-half scoring with a Galway score that gave the travelling support real heart.

Steede's goal, after a turnover in the Meath defence, left them just a point behind and Conroy levelled it at 1-6 apiece three minutes later.

They were level twice more in the final quarter of the game but Walsh proved calmest in the eye of the storm, booting those two excellent late points for Galway, the first a real head turner from play on the right wing and the insurance score then from a free.

Scorers for Galway: Shane Walsh 0-7 (6fs), Paul Conroy 0-4 (1m), Ronan Steede 1-1, Michael Daly 0-1, Eamonn Brannigan 0-1.

Scorers for Meath: Ethan Devine 1-0, Bryan McMahon 0-3, James Conlon 0-3, Donal Lenihan 0-3 (2fs), Bryan Menton 0-2, Oisin O'Brien 0-1.

GALWAY: Connor Gleeson; Sean Kelly, Sean Mulkerrin, Johnny Heaney; Liam Silke, John Daly, Gary O'Donnell; Ronan Steede, Tom Flynn; Eamonn Brannigan, Cein D'Arcy, Michael Daly; Martin Farragher, Shane Walsh, Adrian Varley.

Subs: Paul Conroy for Farragher (27), Gareth Bradshaw for O'Donnell (52), Robert Finnerty for Varley (55), Darragh Silke for Daly (61), Matthias Barrett for Steede (65).

MEATH: Marcus Brennan; Robin Clarke, Conor McGill, David Toner; James McEntee, Ronan Ryan, Donal Keogan; Bryan Menton, Brian Conlon; Ethan Devine, Bryan McMahon, Cillian O'Sullivan; James Conlon, Oisin O'Brien, Thomas O'Reilly.

Subs: Shane Walsh for O'Brien (48), Donal Lenihan for Devine (55), Jack O'Connor for James Conlon (55), Padraic Harnan for Brian Conlon (55).

REFEREE: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh).