Galway 0-15
Laois 1-9

Galway football fans will look ahead to 2008 with renewed optimism if they can build on the sort of style produced to lower a Laois side in an entertaining clash at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

CHALLENGE . . . Galway centre-forward Fiachra Breatnach comes under pressure from Laois centre-back Darren Rooney during Sunday's National League clash at Pearse Stadium. Photo: Reg Gordon.

It is, of course, early days in the reign of the 1966 All-Ireland medal winner but the free-flowing football produced on Sunday will have enlightened the purists.

Laois, too, played their part in a game that fluctuated with a pace more akin to the latter rather than the early stages of the league.

But Laois came away with nothing from the game and for all their endeavour they rarely looked like spoiling Sammon's maiden voyage.

Four of the last six meetings between these sides ended in draws and for a long time on Sunday it appeared a share of the spoils was the most likely outcome.

"I was very pleased with the way we finished the game. We really wanted to win this one. In the past few years we have been playing well in our opening league games but not winning them, so this is an important win," said Sammon.

Laois boss Liam Kearns was disappointed to see the game slip away from them in the closing stages. "We started to win a lot of breaks around the centre but we didn't kick our scores and that cost us in the end," said Kearns.

The sides were level six times in the match as both of them moved the ball with impressive speed for the time of year.

They were level at the break at 1-4 to 0-7 with Brendan Quigley fisting home the only goal of the game after 17 minutes when he connected superbly to a cross from the right corner from Colm Parkinson.

That gave Laois a 1-3 to 0-3 but it was not long before Galway were back in the game with Michael Meehan in superb form at full-forward.

The Caltra man, who gave an exhibition of free-taking in addition to his constant threat to the visitors' defence, saw plenty of fast ball coming in from out the field where wing-back Darren Mullahy and new midfielder Mark Lydon were impressive.

Meehan kicked five points in the opening half but Galway also hit six wides to two for Laois. The Galway response to Quigley's goal was instant with Lydon landing a fine point and Sean Armstrong reducing the deficit to the minimum before Meehan edged them in front with more points from placed balls.

Michael Tierney landed his second point of the game to tie the teams at the interval. Meehan and Tierney exchanged pointed frees within two minutes of the restart and the impressive Tierney again squared the match after 45 minutes following an Armstrong point.