Derry led all the way but Damien Reddington's 57th-minute goal gave Galway a dramatic 1-10 to 1-9 victory in the All-Ireland MFC final at Croke Park. There were six points in it after 15 minutes, but Galway refused to panic and gradually clawed their way back into the match to take a stunning victory. The Ulster champions made a dream start when full forward Gavin McGeehan caught the ball and fired an early shot to the net. Allied to a Lee Moore point, that score had Derry four to the good. Michael Martin opened Galway's account on eight minutes, but Stephen Cleary cancelled that score out 60 seconds later. Moore almost got in for a second Derry goal in the twelfth minute but his rasping drive flew over the crossbar. Moore then added his third point to put six points between the teams at the start of the second quarter and John O'Brien from Clifden replied for the westerners. Joe Joe Grady almost fumbled the ball into the Derry net but it dribbled a couple of feet outside the post. When Martin popped over a Galway free from distance, Galway were back within four points - 1-4 to 0-3. Reddington latched onto Grady's pass and cut inside his man to add Galway's third successive point on 22 minutes and Martin maintained the Galway momentum with another free two minutes later. McGeehan kept the ball in play to grab Derry's first point in twelve minutes - 1-5 to 0-5 - and Moore pounced to add another Oak Leaf point from an acute angle. The corner forward was close to goal but still had a lot of work to do as he was close to the end line. Midfielder James Kielt picked up a pass from McGeehan to close the first half scoring with a fine point on the run. Having weathered the storm, Derry's third consecutive point gave them a nice interval cushion: 1-6 to 0-5. Galway went straight into attack on the resumption and Jonathan Ryan's shot was deflected out for a 45. When Grady caught Paul Conroy's shot before it went over the end line, full back Carlos McWilliams pulled him down and got a yellow card for his troubles. Conroy popped over the free and the gap was down to a goal. Reddington's perseverance earned him a point and the margin was down to the minimum when Eanna Glynn tagged on Galway's eighth score in the tenth minute of the second half: 1-6 to 0-8. Galway thought they were level when wing back Conor Doherty sent a precise shot between the posts at the Canal end but the umpires ruled the 43rd-minute shot wide. The Connacht county's woes were compounded when Kielt almost immediately tagged over a Derry point. Moore's booming shot went wide off the outside of a post but Cleary had no such difficulty as he fired over his second shot to make it 1-8 to 0-8 with 46 minutes played. McGeehan was desperately unlucky when his 49th-minute shot came back off the butt of a post after a clever exchange with Moore. Martin pointed for Galway five minutes from time after his initial low short had been easily blocked, reducing the gap to just two points. In the 57th minute, Reddington caught a high ball into the Derry goalmouth and turned inside his man to slam a fierce low left-footed shot to the back of the Derry net. With only three minutes left, Galway led for the first time: 1-9 to 1-8. Derry were a beaten team when Martin added a point from a free following a foul on the Galway matchwinner. Derry substitute Ciaran McFeely knocked over a point 20 seconds into the only minute of added time but the score was a mere consolation as the Tribesmen held on for the narrowest of wins. Galway - O Higgins; E Glynn (0-1), C Forde, K Kelly; C Doherty (0-1), D O'Reilly, T Fahy; P Conroy, A Griffin; JJ Greaney, T Walsh, J O'Brien (0-1); J Ryan, M Martyn (0-5), D Reddington (1-2). Subs - J Burke for J Ryan), O O'Brien for JJ Greaney. Derry - A Warnock; M McKinney, C McWilliams, D Bell; C McGaigue, JF Bradley, B Henry; J Kielt (0-2), C O'Boyle; S Cleary (0-2), A Heron, D Mullan; N Forrester, G McGeehan (1-1), L Moore (0-3). Subs - D Heavron for N Forrester, C McFeeley (0-1) for S Cleary, L Kennedy for Herron. Referee - D Fahy (Longford). Tweet

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