Meath 2-16

Galway 2-15

By Pádraic Ó Ciardha in Croke Park

It wasn’t meant to end like this. Not here. Not yet.

Galway’s senior Gaelic footballers looked as if they were coming into their own at just the right time this Summer, but their 2025 campaign has now been brought to a shuddering halt by Sunday’s one-point defeat to Meath in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Having lost out – and had their season ended – by such a narrow margin, it’s inevitable that there will be a few regrets and one or two gripes about moments which could have swung things in the Tribemen’s favour but the basic facts are undeniable – the better team won and deservedly so. Simple as. Sin é. ’Nuff said.

If we had to continue, we’d say all the best players on show were in green. Jordan Morris was unmarkable in the second-half; Matthew Costello and Seán Rafferty were both superb. Damien Comer did give them a run for their money with his tantalising, all-action cameo, but more was needed from the supporting cast.

The result was that Meath are now looking forward to a first All-Ireland semi-final in 16 years, while Galway are left to look inwards at where it all went wrong.

That self-reflection won’t be too enjoyable for anyone involved either, between players and management. Galway had been far from perfect in the previous rounds, playing only in fits-and-starts but things looked to be moving in the right direction.

The comeback against Derry was followed by a hard-fought win against Armagh which was then followed by an impressive, if flawed, victory up in Down. The signs were positive, or so we thought.

Even good teams lose matches, and there can be honour in defeat, but it’s hard to say that was the case on Sunday. There was a late rally but, in the end, Galway weren’t so much carried out on their shield as left to bleed out from a series of self-inflicted wounds.

Only those inside the camp will know what the efforts of the previous weeks took out of the team. Last weekend’s All-Ireland quarter final was Galway’s third away game on the spin and there’s no denying they looked flat and lethargic against Meath, especially in the first-half.

It’s not like Galway hadn’t done this before, however. Last year, Pádraic Joyce’s side produced their best performance of the year to beat Dublin at the same stage while playing their third game in as many weeks. Both Donegal and Kerry also managed to shake off any tiredness to win their respective matches last weekend, putting in the two most impressive second-half performances of the whole weekend.

Both Donegal and Kerry had something to focus their minds in those games, however. Donegal looked as flat as Galway in the opening half of their game against Monaghan on Saturday, but chased down a seven-point deficit at half-time to book their place in the final four. Kerry, on the other hand, were driven by the urge to prove the doubters wrong, having been written off in many quarters before their game with Armagh.

Pictured: Galway players including Damien Comer leave the field after final whistle. Photo: Ray McManus/Sportsfile.