Champions find top gear after sluggish start

Galway pushed Sligo dreams aside with something like contemptuous ease at Tuam yesterday. Their second-half performance seemed to revive the spirit and commitment which brought them the Sam Maguire last year.

And yet it was not until after the break in this lively match that Galway lived up to their reputation - and not before Sligo had given them a stern examination.

Galway supporters in a thronged Tuam stadium - the estimated attendance was 30,000 - were far from happy at half-time. Sligo had come out in a belligerent mood and did not stand on ceremony as they sought to repeat their heroics of a week earlier which had won them this replay.

Sadly for them, the Galway defence was not as co-operative as it had been in Markievicz Park and Sligo's high, long-range efforts were dealt with competently throughout the afternoon.

At five points apiece at the break nobody was prepared to take any bets on the outcome. Sligo had moved into a 0-5 to 0-2 lead after 20 minutes and looked as if they could contain the Galway effort for the rest of the afternoon.

In fact nobody could have begrudged them a three- or four-point margin at half-time, as Galway looked disorganised and unusually inept.

Sligo reckoned without the Donnellan factor, however. This time it was not last year's player of the year, Michael Donnellan, but his brother, John who stole the show. He tormented the Sligo defence from start to finish and ended up with a tally of seven points - six from play - and overshadowed everybody else on the field with his speed of foot and of thought, allied to his ability to be in the right place at the right time.

Galway managed to settle their ship after the break and Sligo had no answer to the powerful play of such as Sean Og de Paor and Derek Savage, who both game sterling support to John Donnellan as Galway surged forward to destroy the Sligo midfield and defence. In addition, the return of Jarlath Fallon to something approaching full fitness was a welcome boost for the Galway men and they traded on it to its fullest extent.

In addition the Galway full-back line of Tomas Meehan, Gary Fahy and Tomas Mannion, as well as goalkeeper Martin McNamara, made up for the lapses which saw them conceded three goals to Sligo the previous week. This gave the All-Ireland champions a marvellous boost to their morale. Galway can now look back on their meetings with Sligo, appreciative of the fact that they have an extra match under their belts. They may now be favourites to retain their Connacht title and All-Ireland crown as a result.

It was a strange match in many ways, not least because of the collapse of Sligo in the second half. There was little sign of such an eventuality early in the game when, after an early Galway point from a dominant free in the first minute, Sligo seemed to be taking control of the game.

John McPartland and Paul Taylor, from a free, put Sligo ahead by the seventh minute and Dessie Sloyane stretched it that little bit further. The exchanges were quite swift and by the 20th minute with the wind and rain behind them on a well-prepared pitch Sligo were leading by five points to two up.

It was then that Galway began to buckle down to the task in hand and points by John Donnellan from play and Sean Og de Paor brought them within a point of Sligo before Donnellan brought them level just before half-time after a mazy run which saw him get past three Sligo defenders before putting the ball over the bar. Sligo had their chance of a goal around this time but at the other end Paul Durcan was forced to make a timely interception as Galway came back with some speed.

The opening minutes of the second half saw Galway jump into a three-point lead with points by John Donnellan, Padraig Joyce and Fallon, and Joyce stretched it to four in the 47th minute. Sligo then had now their best goal chance of the day when a raid on the Galway goal gave Sloyane a sight of the net, but amazingly his shot was blocked by Kevin Walsh and the ball was diverted for a 45 which O'Hara converted. A goal at that stage of the match would have a huge boost to Sligo.

Galway were soon back in control and when a shot by Og de Paor was brilliantly deflected over by Sligo goalkeeper Peter Walsh, it became apparent that Sligo were not going to survive. This was confirmed in the 27th minute of the second half when another Galway assault saw de Paor's shot rebound off goalkeeper Walsh but de Paor followed up expertly and knocked the ball into the net to give the All-Ireland champions their passage to the Connacht final against Mayo.