Mick O'Dowd was full of his praise for his Meath team after they salvaged a share of the spoils against Galway.

Leading by nine points at half-time, the Royals suffered another second half collapse before scoring three late points to avoid defeat.

"I was really, really happy with the spirit of the Meath team in the first half. We built up a commanding lead and I know there will be criticism about how did we lose it. I'd just say this is a young bunch of Meath players who are learning a lot," the manager is quoted in the Irish Daily Mirror.

"They are really willing, dedicated and determined. We saw that in the last five minutes when we introduced players to make a difference.

"That is what you want. It is a credit to them that they stood up to get a point from the game. I'm nothing but proud."

O'Dowd's Galway counterpart Kevin Walsh felt his side's second half comeback took its toll in the closing stages.

"The boys came out in the second half and worked hard. Probably a bit of tiredness kicked in during the last 10 minutes," he reflected.

"It is a point each, but we aren't sitting too badly. We have things to learn, but at half-time it was important that we came out to show some fight."

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