Galway 4-24 Sligo 1-12: Tribesmen romp into decider

Galway's hopes of matching Mayo's haul of 46 Connacht titles remains on track as their 4-24 to 1-12 win over Sligo set up another provincial final against Roscommon for Kevin Walsh's side.

Damien Comer top scored and did most of the damage for Galway from his full-forward berth, but it was not until the closing stages that he found the net, with his goals in the 65th and 67th minutes adding further misery to the battered Yeats men.

Sligo did make an impact early in the second half after Kyle Cawley goaled, but Galway eased to victory in the last quarter and further goals from Ian Burke and Comer's double wrapped up a facile win.

Playing into a light breeze in Salthill, Sligo would have eyed a bright start against their in-form Division 1 hosts and despite Adrian Marren's early point to cancel out Shane Walsh's opener, this game was over by the 17th minute.

Seven points in a row from the rampant Tribesmen had them 0-8 to 0-1 ahead by that juncture, with Walsh and Damien Comer doing particular damage to the hopes of Cathal Corey's side.

Lining up with a more attacking formation than usual with Comer employed by and large in the full-forward line, Galway looked unstoppable at times as Sligo's marking and tracking of runners left a lot to be desired.

At the other end, their poor shooting and shot selection also marred their first half and two in a row from Marren failed to stop the rot early on. Pat Hughes and Niall Murphy did trim the lead to five points after 21 minutes, but Galway upped their efforts for eight minutes and kicked five points without reply to lead by 10.

After a quiet opening half-hour Liam Gaughan tagged on a couple of good points for Sligo, but in first-half added time, a great Johnny Heaney effort was added to when Comer picked out Sean Kelly with a sweet ball over the top and his low finish gave Galway a 1-15 to 0-6 half-time lead.

There was a brief glimmer of hope for Sligo two minutes after the restart when Kyle Cawley punched to the net after some good build-up play from Sean Carabine and Gerard O'Kelly Lynch on the left.

Two in a row from Ian Burke ended those slim hopes though, and 19 minutes from time Burke was on hand to finish to the net from close range when Walsh laid it on a plate for him.

With the win in the bag, Galway refused to ease up and Comer hit the net twice in the space of two minutes later on, although David Wynne was sent off in added time after he picked up a black card to add to his earlier yellow.

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Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan)

Scorers for Galway: D Comer (2-2), S Kelly (1-2), I Burke (1-2), S Walsh (0-5, 1f), E Brannigan (0-3), B McHugh (0-3, 2f), J Heaney (0-2), P Cooke (0-2), P Sweeney (0-1), F Burke (0-1), G O'Donnell (0-1).

Scorers for Sligo: Kyle Cawley (1-2), A Marren (0-4, 1f), L Gaughan (0-3, 2f), N Murphy (0-2), P Hughes (0-1).

TEAMS:

Galway

1. Ruairí Lavelle
2. Declan Kyne
3. Seán Andy Ó Ceallaigh
4. David Wynne
5. Cathal Sweeney
6. Gareth Bradshaw
7. Seán Kelly
9. Thomas Flynn
19. Peter Cooke
12. Johnny Heaney
11. Shane Walsh
10. Eamonn Brannigan
14. Damien Comer
13. Ian Burke
15. Barry McHugh
Subs
26. Patrick Sweeney for McHugh (43rd minute);
21. Michael Daly for Flynn (49th minute);
25. Gary O'Donnell for Cathal Sweeney (58th minute);
18. Frankie Burke for Ian Burke (60th minute);
22. Johnny Duane for Bradshaw (65th minute);
20. Danny Cummins for Walsh (66th minute).

Sligo

1. Aidan Devaney
2. Charlie Harrison
27. Ross Donovan
9. Kevin McDonnell
7. Gerard O'Kelly Lynch
6. Adrian McIntyre
3. Eoin McHugh
10. Patrick O'Connor
8. Niall Murphy
5. Neil Ewing
11. Liam Gaughan
12. Cathal Henry
15. Adrian Marren
14. Pat Hughes
13. Kyle Cawley
Subs
19. Seán Carribine for Henry (21st minute);
18. Cian Breheny for Hughes (28th minute);
22. Luke Nicholson for Harrison (half-time);
23. Keelan Cawley for O'Kelly Lynch (60th minute);
21. Finnian Cawley for McHugh (63rd minute, black card);
24. Darragh Cummins for McIntyre (66th minute).