Galway 0-23 Sligo 1-12
The field has narrowed dramatically in the race to succeed Kildare as All-Ireland U-20 football champions across last night and tonight, but Galway put themselves well in the mix for consideration for the big prize with a scintillating display in Castlebar to account for Sligo and set up a Connacht final tilt with Roscommon on Saturday week.
When Galway and Roscommon met already on a dismal night in Dr. Hyde Park, it finished 0-06 apiece on a terrible night for football. Derek Savage's side were utterly transformed in top of the ground conditions in Castlebar this evening, and in particular in the first 20 minutes of action, they were little short of flawless.
Even allowing for the fresh breeze that blew down from the bacon factory end of the ground, Galway’s football in that opening third was irresistible. A dozen points were fired over Ethan Carden’s crossbar, and the only wide was a spilled ball from a tackle – every attempt at the posts resulted in the umpire reaching for the flag.
Shay McGlinchey continued to mark himself out as one of the brightest young prospects in the province with an outstanding all-round display and he had two early points on the board, both highlight reel material.
However the real evidence that Galway could do no wrong was corner forward Jack Mullin, who stepped in as a last-minute replacement for Ronan Colleran and duly terrorised the Sligo full back line, plundering four points from play in the opening half, including an eye-of-a-needle effort that he squeezed through from an impossible angle on the left wing.
At 0-12 to 0-1 with the 20 minute mark looming, it looked catastrophic for last year’s All-Ireland finalists. The Tribesmen were dominating the Sligo kickout, while Ross Coen got on the scoresheet with an elegant finish, but the ease with which he sauntered through to get an unchallenged shot away made for dreadful viewing for Sligo supporters.
Then, in the 10 minutes before half-time, there was a flicker of hope. Defensively they got to grips with things a bit more, and after one goal effort from Rian O’Callaghan was blocked out for a 45, their next attempt saw Robert O’Kelly Lynch drive down through the heart of the defence and set up Connor Flynn for a goal, reducing the half-time deficit to eight points, 0-13 to 1-02.
Sligo needed to keep that momentum up into the second half, but Galway’s ongoing ability to win ball from long restarts ensured that they kept the scoreboard moving throughout an enjoyable but ultimately uncompetitive half of football.
Eamon McGrath’s kickouts were impeccable – the Claregalway man further demonstrated his dead ball ability with two excellent pointed frees – and when he didn’t have McGlinchey or his club colleague Jack Lonergan as his primary target, Ciarán Mulhern had a productive outing as a third receiver, dropping into pockets of space from centre forward.
Luke Marren kicked some nice points for Sligo while Eli Rooney made a strong impression off the bench, with Rossa Sloyan and Conor Sheridan also kicking points that demonstrated the quality that there is in this Sligo group, but Galway never went too long without scoring themselves and never looked in any danger of having their season brought to a close this evening.
Galway: Eamon McGrath (0-02 frees); Shane Canavan, Darragh Costello, Brian Noone; Jack Folan, Ross Coen (0-01), Mark Mannion (0-01); Shay McGlinchey (0-02), Jack Lonergan (0-01); Matthew Thompson (0-03, 0-01 free), Cian Murphy (0-02), Conor Heneghan; Jack Mullin (0-04), Ciarán Mulhern (0-02), Colm Costello (0-04, 0-02 frees).
Subs: Fionn Mac Donnacha (0-01 mark) for Mullin (44), Daithi Kilcommins for Heneghan (51), Luc O’Connor for Folan (53), Pádraic Godwin for Mannion (53), Cormac Greaney for Coen (58).
Sligo: Ethan Carden; Ronan O’Hehir, Conor Johnston, Tommy Ross; Rian O’Callaghan, Dylan McLoughlin, Rossa Sloyan (0-01); Ross Doherty, Conor Sheridan (0-01); Robert O’Kelly Lynch (0-01), Ronan Niland (0-01), Conor Walsh; Conor Flynn (1-00), James Donlon, Luke Marren (0-05, 0-03 frees).
Subs: Dillon Walsh for O’Callaghan (half-time), Eli Rooney (0-03, 0-01 free) for Donlon (37), Mark McDaniel for Flynn (39), Eoin Barrett for Johnston (45), Oran Harte for Ross (49)
Referee: Michael McGirl (Leitrim).
In Munster, Cork and Kerry will meet in next Wednesday's provincial final after the pair accounted for Clare and Tipperary to conclude 'Phase 2' this evening.
The Rebels, who lost by four points to Kerry in a dress rehearsal of the decider last week, administered a fairly grisly beating to Clare in Páirc Uí Chaoimh this evening, running in four first half goals to emphatically kill the contest early on.
Hugh O'Connor struck a brace of first half goals, with Ross Corkery and Ed Myers also finding the net as the led 4-11 to 0-04 at the break.
While the hosts' scoring rate tapered off and Clare largely matched them after the interval, Bantry's Dara Sheehy plundered a fifth as they ran out 20-point winners on a 5-18 to 0-13 scoreline.
Tomas Ó Sé's unbeaten Kerry side ultimately had only five points to spare in the finish against a game Tipperary side in Tralee.
Their place in the final already assured, Kerry only led 0-05 to 0-04 after a stodgy first half.
However, they found their groove after the break, Tomás Kennedy's 42nd minute goal slamming the door on any prospect of a shock.
Points from the likes of Luke Crowley, Eddie Healy and Cormac Dillon stretched the lead out to 10 at one stage before Tipperary mounted a late burst, Daithí Hogan finding the net at the death to leave the final score at 1-15 to 1-10 to the hosts.
Next week's Ulster decider will see Derry and Tyrone lock horns at the Box-It Athletic Grounds in Armagh after both sides came out the right side of gripping semi-finals.
Tyrone will be seeking a fourth provincial title at this level in six years after edging out Monaghan by the bare minimum, while Derry will be looking to avenge last year’s defeat after a dramatic last-gasp win over Donegal.
The Red Hands managed to repel a late fightback from Monaghan after assuming control early in the second half as O’Neill’s Healy Park.
The hosts got off to the perfect start when they raised a green flag with the opening score of the game as Cormac Devlin found the back of the net.
With a slender one-point interval lead, a Ronan Fox goal after the restart followed by points from Ruairi McCullagh and Eoin McElholm made it a five-point game, yet Monaghan kept plugging away.
Twice they reduced the margin to a point – a Stephen Mooney mark in injury-time proved to be the final score – but it wasn’t enough to deny Tyrone.
They will now face a Derry side for whom Ryan McNicholl was the hero with his point the final act of a dramatic encounter at Ballybofey.
The hosts were quickest out of the traps, reeling off the first three scores of the game before Derry began to find their feet.
An Eoin Higgins free reduced Donegal’s lead to three points as Donegal went to the dressing room with a 0-7 to 0-04 advantage.
A Luke McGlynn goal shortly after the resumption sparked real life into the Derry challenge and minutes later, Ruairi Forbes brought the sides level for the first time.
It was nip and tuck from there on in, with a McGlynn point in the final minute nudging Derry back in front.
The hosts responded, with Kevin Lynch kicking the equaliser in the third minute of injury time before McNicholl broke Donegal hearts with the final act of the game.
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