Galway take crossroads on to easy street

Galway 4-17 Donegal 0-14: Galway had never scored four goals against an Ulster team in championship football before but such was the ease with which they prised open the Donegal rearguard in Sligo on Saturday that they could have got double that haul.

If this was a crossroads fixture for these counties after provincial disappointment, then Galway, promoted after winning the Division 2 title, are very much back on main street.

But Donegal, not the first county to struggle to replace All-Ireland winners, look set for a period in the back streets, with manager Rory Gallagher facing an uncertain future just 10 months after being handed a three-year contract extension.