Galway bossed the second half to defeat Leitrim by 1-13 to 0-8 at Carrick-on-Shannon.
The Tribesmen's second win of the campaign sets up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with provincial title holders Mayo on June 14th.
With 5,458 in attendance today, Damien Comer's 32nd-minute goal helped Kevin Walsh's side to a 1-7 to 0-6 lead at the end of an opening period where the underdogs otherwise gave as good as they got.
Paul Conroy and Michael Lundy slotted the winners' first two points, with Sean McWeeney and Ronan Kennedy on target for the hosts in between. Conroy restored the favourites' lead from a 14th-minute free but Shane Ward's men refused to go away and Kevin Conlan's precise '45' tied the scores up for the second time in the 20th minute, 0-3 each.
Another Conroy free split the sides again with ten minutes left in the first half and a Peadar Og Griofa free made it 0-5 to 0-3. A Conroy brace - one from a free, one from play - increased the gap to four and clear daylight finally appeared between the sides when Comer pounced for the only goal of the game three minutes from half time: 1-7 to 0-3.
It looked like Leitrim's goose was cooked but they finished the first half with a real flurry as Fergal Clancy, Conlan ('45') and McWeeney all slotted points to reduce the interval arrears to a manageable four points.
Gary O'Donnell, Conroy (free) and Comer notched the only three points of the third quarter as the visitors turned the screw. Leitrim's first score of the second half didn't arrive until the 63rd minute but they still trailed by six despite Conlan's converted free, 1-10 to 0-7.
A Danny Cummins brace confirmed what we already knew - that Galway were semi-final-bound - and Paddy McGowan pulled back a late consolation for Leitrim, who will assume their customary place in the Qualifiers.
Patrick Sweeney completed the scoring in injury time as the Tribesmen eventually eased into the last four on a day when the result was all that mattered.
Galway - B O'Donoghue; J Duane, F Hanley, C Sweeney; L Silke, G O'Donnell (0-1), S Denvir; F O Curraoin, P Conroy (0-6, 5f); G Sice, S Walsh, M Lundy (0-1); P Og O Griofa (0-1f), D Cummins (0-2), D Comer (1-1). Subs: P Sweeney (0-1) for S Walsh, T Flynn for F O Curraoin, A Varley for D Cummins, M Martin for P Og O Griofa, D Kyne for C Sweeney, G Bradshaw for S Denvir.
Leitrim - C McCrann; M Murphy, R Gallagher, N Woods; S McWeeney (0-2), G Reynolds, T Mulvey; D Sweeney, S Moran; D Beck, F Clancy (0-1), K Conlan (0-3, 2'45, 1f); R Kennedy (0-1), J McGrail, D Wrynn. Subs: C Gilheaney for J McGrail, J Connolly for T Mulvey, P McGowan (0-1) for S Moran, B Prior for M Murphy, S Quinn for D Wrynn, A McLoughlin for D Beck.
Referee - A Nolan.
Tweet