Galway boost survival chances against leaky Monaghan

Galway gave their hopes of staying in Division One of the Allianz Football League a significant boost with a win over Monaghan in Clones.

With both teams without some of their star names, the return of some of Monaghan's veterans wasn’t enough to inspire a bounce back to winning ways for the hosts, who remain bottom of the table after a disastrous finish to the first half.

The Tribesmen pounced for three goals during that spell, with Cathal Sweeney, Rory Cunningham and John Maher all profiting from defensive errors to put the visitors in the driving seat. They were always able to keep Monaghan at arm’s length from there on as they secured a win that sees them jump out of the relegation zone with two rounds remaining.

The teams shared just two points each in the opening 10 minutes, with Dessie Ward’s opener for Monaghan being answered by a Rob Finnerty free. As the game belatedly came to life, points from Rory Cunningham and Finnerty for Galway were cancelled out by Jack McCarron and the lively Michael Hamill.

McCarron regained the lead for Monaghan on 25 minutes, but things unravelled for the home side in the remainder of the first half.

The initial dagger arrived when Monaghan failed to deal with a hopeful punt forward from Dylan McHugh, allowing Cathal Sweeney to hit the net.

Another followed within five minutes, as Cunningham reacted quickest when a Finnerty free came back off the woodwork to fire home a second goal, moments after Andrew Woods had been black-carded.

Monaghan responded through McCarron, Mícheál Bannigan and Hamill, only to have all that work undone deep into added time when they couldn’t clear a sideline from Finnerty, allowing Maher to scramble home as Galway led 3-04 to 0-07 at the break.

Despite managing