Galway flexed their muscle with a devastating 3-15 to 0-10 demolition of Roscommon at Hyde Park.

Alan Mulholland's well-oiled machine - demonstrating the perfect mix of youth and experience - bossed the first half to lead emphatically at half time: 2-8 to 0-6, with Mark Hehir and Paul Conroy firing the goals. (Gary Sice would add the third three-pointer deep into the second half.)

Played in perfect conditions, with 12,962 paying spectators looking on, this was a total exhibition of football from the visitors.

Both teams started as selected and the atmosphere was electric as the Connacht championship commenced in earnest.

From the throw-in, wing back Gareth Bradshaw set the tone as he drove forward to put the Tribesmen in front after just 15 seconds. St Brigid's clubman Senan Kilbride hit a super left-footed leveller from 35 yards.

Karol Mannion exploited a slack Galway kick-out to thump over an excellent lead point for the Rossies but Donie Shine missed a free that was eminently kickable by his own high standards. The losers were punished as Galway quickly equalised.

Roscommon lost Michael Finneran to injury and were left reeling when Hehir sent the ball to the net before Sean Armstrong's point made it 1-3 to 0-2.

Bradshaw took his second point from 35 yards (with Geoffrey Claffey forced to tip the shot over his crossbar) after a brace of Gary Sice frees and the visitors led by 1-6 to 0-2, having now notched 1-5 without reply.

When Conroy collected a direct delivery and stroked the ball to the net on 21 minutes, there were ten points between the teams - 2-6 to 0-2. A class goal and Roscommon were already in major trouble!

Kilbride popped over a free for the home team, that score barely raising a cheer…

Sice and 31-year-old Joe Bergin - playing his 48th championship match - added to the rising Tribemen tally to make it 2-8 to 0-3 with 25 minutes gone. Roscommon's heads were down and Shine hit another wide.

Shine eventually successfully converted a free - pointing with his fourth effort of the game - but he missed a '45' shortly afterwards.

Cathal Cregg beat his man to hit an inspirational Roscommon point in first-half injury time and Kilbride made it three-in-a-row for the hosts before the break.

Shine (free) and substitute David O'Gara grabbed two more Roscommon points upon the restart to close the gap to six. They had scored five in a row but that was as good as it got as Galway were just catching breath...

Conroy replied for Galway and his 50th-minute point - which brought his tally to 1-3 - made it 2-11 to 0-8.

A huge cheer went up as veteran Padraig Joyce came into the game for the final quarter. Michael Meehan had also been introduced and he claimed his second point before O'Gara replied for the home team.

Midfield warhorse Bergin's second point made it 2-13 to 0-9 after an hour and corner back Kieran McGrath knocked over a 14th Galway point. In the 63rd minute, wizardry from Meehan placed Sice for his first-ever championship goal.

St James clubman Conroy benefited from Joyce's industry to add another Galway point at the end of normal time and Ger Heneghan popped over the last score of the game for the demoralised losers.

Galway - A Faherty; K McGrath (0-1); F Hanley; K Kelly; G Bradshaw (0-2); J Duane; G O'Donnell; J Bergin (0-2); G Higgins; G Sice (1-3); D Burke; T Flynn; S Armstrong (0-1); P Conroy (1-4); M Hehir (1-0). Subs: M Meehan (0-2) for Armstrong, P Joyce for Burke, T Fahy for O'Donnell, D Cummins for Hehir.

Roscommon - G Claffey; S McDermott; N Carty; S Purcell; C Dineen; P Domican; I Kilbride; M Finneran; K Mannion (0-1); D Keenan; C Cregg (0-1); J Rogers; S Kilbride (0-3); D McDermott; D Shine (0-2). Subs: N Daly for Finneran, D O'Gara (0-2) for Rogers, G Heneghan (0-1) for Keenan, K Higgins for McDermott, C Shine for Kilbride.

Ref - J McQuillan (Cavan). Tweet

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