U20 round-up: Galway end Sligo's reign in the west

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,