Galway routed Sligo by 21 points at Pearse Stadium to reach a third Connacht football final in a row with Damien Comer twice hitting the net for Kevin Walsh’s side.
A blistering first 15 minutes saw Galway race into a seven-point lead, and when Sean Kelly goaled in first-half added-time Galway were well on the way to a big win.
Sligo did settle in the second-half after Kyle Cawley goaled shortly after the restart, but Galway devoured Cathal Corey’s side in the last 20 minutes and further goals from Ian Burke and Comer’s brace 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 that 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 ten.
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 form 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.
Galway: Ruairí Lavelle; Declan Kyne, Seán Andy Ó Ceallaigh, David Wynne; Cathal Sweeney, Gareth Bradshaw, Seán Kelly (1-02); Thomas Flynn, Peter Cooke (0-02); Johnny Heaney (0-02), Shane Walsh (0-05, 0-01 free), Eamonn Brannigan (0-03); Damien Comer (2-02), Ian Burke (1-02), Barry McHugh (0-03, 0-02 frees).
Subs: Patrick Sweeney (0-01) for McHugh (43), Michael Daly for Flynn (49), Gary O’Donnell (0-01) for Cathal Sweeney (58), Frankie Burke (0-01) for Ian Burke (60), Johnny Duane for Bradshaw (65), Danny Cummins for Walsh (66).
Sligo: Aidan Devaney; Charlie Harrison, Ross Donovan, Kevin McDonnell; Gerard O’Kelly Lynch, Adrian McIntyre, Eoin McHugh; Patrick O’Connor, Niall Murphy (0-02); Neil Ewing, Liam Gaughan (0-03, 0-02 frees), Cathal Henry; Adrian Marren (0-04, 0-01 free), Pat Hughes (0-01), Kyle Cawley (1-02).
Subs: Seán Carribine for Henry (21), Cian Breheny for Hughes (28), Luke Nicholson for Harrison (half time), Keelan Cawley for O’Kelly Lynch (60), Finnian Cawley for McHugh (63, black card), Darragh Cummins for McIntyre (66).
Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan)
