Galway staved off a late Westmeath rally at Pearse Stadium to advance to the quarter-finals of the All-Ireland championship race after a thrilling encounter in the Salthill sunshine.
The hosts led by seven points at the break having played with the wind and Westmeath, after suffering a handful of injuries, were unable to eat into the deficit after the restart.
Galway looked to be coasting to victory when they led by nine points with six minutes left on the clock before Westmeath rallied and got the margin down to two in the final minute but were unable to catch the Tribesmen.
There was a carnival atmosphere at the Salthill seaside resort since early morning, with huge crowds gathering before 11am, prompting Galway GAA to open the gates to the stadium three hours before the start.
An estimated 15,000 Westmeath supporters made the trip with the 25,000 capacity selling out in midweek as the two maroon-clad counties went into battle with Galway wearing their white away strip and the Leinster champions donning their green alternative strip.
And the capacity crowd got full value for money in a contest full of incidents but where Galway always seemed to have an edge.
It was a full house in Salthill
Westmeath played against the stiff breeze in the opening half and looked to be in trouble when Galway surged 2-04 to 0-02 in front after just eleven minutes, with Shane Walsh sticking a goal after Jason Daly’s short kickout was turned over and then Cian Hernon worked his way in from the left and drilled the ball low into the net.
That wiped out Westmeath’s bright start when Tadhg Baker and Sam McCartan, grandson of Galway legend Sean Purcell, landed good points after Rob Finnerty had got Galway off the mark in the third minute.
Westmeath did not panic and a point from Senan Baker, after he returned after a clash of heads forced himself and Seán Kelly off for treatment, was followed by a goal from captain Ronan Wallace after being set up by Tadhg Baker and McCartan to cut the gap to 2-04 to 1-03 after 20 minutes.
Paul Conroy responded with a two-pointer for a Galway side who looked dangerous when they ran at the Westmeath defence and then after John Heslin, a late change to the Westmeath starting side, kicked a free, the Tribesmen hit three in a row, two from Matthew Tierney and one from Kelly to lead by 2-09 to 1-04 ten minutes from the break.
Westmeath then kicked four points without reply from Brían Cooney, Brandon Kelly, Ray Connellan and Heslin to reduce the margin to four. It could have been done to the minimum but an effort from Cooney was scrambled to safety by Galway goalkeeper Connor Gleeson and John Daly before Westmeath were hit with a suckerpunch just before the interval.
Ryan McHugh’s side retained possession for a lengthy period but when McCartan’s effort dropped short, Galway countered from deep and Walsh floated in a superb ball from distance and Tierney got a fist to it to send it to the net to lead by 3-09 to 1-08 at the break.
Late replacement John Heslin (right) kicked four points for Westmeath
Westmeath suffered a double blow in the middle of the field with Cooney going off at the break and then his midfield partner Connellan limped off after injuring an ankle when winning the throw-in.
Wallace gave them a big boost with a two-pointer before Walsh, who tormented the Westmeath defence, and the superb Céin D’Arcy responded for the Tribesmen.
The Baker brothers hit back with a couple of points for the Leinster champions but Finnerty and Walsh cancelled them at the other end after patient build-ups.
A third pointed free from Heslin was then matched at the other end by Conroy as Galway ensured their seven points interval lead was still intact going into the final 20 minutes.
Galway drafted Damien Comer off the bench and he set up Finnerty for a point as the Tribesmen pushed for home against a depleted Westmeath side.
Galway got the lead out to nine points with six minutes left but then Westmeath rallied. Sub Robbie Forde landed a two-pointer, then another sub Jack Duncan palmed home a cross from Kevin O’Sullivan to cut the gap to four with three minutes left.
Another two-pointer, this time from McCartan, in the 69th minute set up the prospect of Westmeath heading for extra-time for the fourth game in a row but Comer rose highest to win the kickout and that set up an attack which finished with sub Shane McGrath fisting his second point to ensure safe passage to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Galway: Connor Gleeson; Jack Glynn, Cian Hernon (1-00), Liam Silke; Dylan McHugh, John Daly, Sean Kelly (0-01); Paul Conroy (0-05, 1x2pt), John Maher; Céin D’Arcy (0-2), Fionn McDonagh, Cillian McDaid; Robert Finnerty (0-03), Matthew Tierney (1-02), Shane Walsh (1-04, 1f).
Subs: Kieran Molloy (0-01) for Kelly (6-10, blood), Shane McGrath (0-02) for McDonagh (24), Damien Comer for McDaid (50), Molloy for Daly (61), Daniel O’Flaherty (0-01) for Finnerty (62), Seán Ó Maoilchiaráin for Conroy (67).
Westmeath: Jason Daly; Conor Dillon, Charlie Drumm, Danny Scahill; Tadhg Baker (0-02), Ronan Wallace (1-02, 1x2pt), Shane Allen; Brían Cooney (0-01), Ray Connellan (0-01); Kevin O Sullivan (0-01), Sam McCartan (0-04, 1x2pt), Matthew Whittaker; John Heslin (0-04f), Senan Baker (0-02, 1f), Brandon Kelly (0-02).
Subs: Shane Corcoran for S Baker (6-16, blood), Harry Niall for Cooney (half-time), Shane Ormsby for Connellan (39), Jack Duncan (1-00) for Whittaker (48), Corcoran for Kelly (61), Robbie Forde (0-02, 1x2pt) for Niall (64).
Referee: Brendan Griffin (Kerry).