Padraic Joyce Rubbishes Galway Narrative After Win Over Dogged Westmeath
Galway have booked their place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals, overcoming a dogged Westmeath team on a scoreline of 3-21 to 2-21 at Salthill this afternoon.
It was a game that Padraic Joyce's side led throughout, with two early goals proving to be a key turning point in the contest. Shane Walsh and Cian Hernon produced two quick fire goals to give their team a sizeable lead just ten minutes into the game.
ANOTHER ONE 💿🚨
Cian Hernon gets a second goal for @Galway_GAA
Football clips courtesy of @aib_gaa pic.twitter.com/g8YgZB3eqK
— GAA+ (@GAAPlusOfficial) June 14, 2026
Galway would grab a third goal just before halftime to carry a seven point lead into the interval.
Westmeath struggled to close that gap for much of the second half, although they would make a late flurry in the final minutes of the contest.
A goal from Jack Duncan late on gave the Leinster champions hope of a late comeback, getting back within two points with 60 seconds to play. However, Galway would win the resulting kickout and get a score up the other end to secure the victory.
Padraic Joyce rubbishes Galway narrative after Westmeath winThis was a big win for Galway, whose extra bit of firepower proved to be crucial in securing the victory and ensuring they were not another victim in what has been a weekend of big shocks in the championship.
Reaching the last eight with two consecutive wins is no easy feat, although some have suggested that the Connacht county could enter the quarter-finals relatively untested.
Their championship wins have come against Leitrim, Kildare, and Westmeath, counties who will compete in the bottom two tiers of the league in 2027.
However, Padraic Joyce is not buying that narrative.
Speaking on GAA+, he said that his side had faced some difficult tests, coming away particularly impressed with Westmeath after their performance in this fixture.
I wouldn't say we're not battle-hardened.
Westmeath are no bad side let me tell you. Whoever gets them next week will know all about it.
So look, we're happy where we are. Are we battle-hardened? People might say that, but I think we will more worry about ourselves, the effort we put in, the scores we got, patterns of play we had was really good.
We have stuff to tidy up on, there's no doubt about that.
Look, we're happy to be there. There's plenty of counties who would love to be where we are.
Galway will now have some one weekend off ahead of the All-Ireland quarter-finals, with those games taking place on the weekend of June 27/28.
As for Westmeath, they will have to quickly recover from this defeat ahead of an All-Ireland Round 3 clash next weekend. A loss in that one will see their season come to an end, while a victory would book their place in the quarter-finals.
Balls
