Connacht Under-21 FC Semi-final: Galway 0-11 Roscommon 0-6 All-Ireland under-21 football titleholders Galway easily disposed of Roscommon in a disappointing curtain-raiser to the Limerick-Armagh senior game at Hyde Park yesterday.

Torrential rain before the throw-in, and again at the start of the second half, spoilt this eagerly awaited clash, with both sides failing to come to terms with the extremely difficult conditions.

Galway, fielding a number of last year's successful side, made a dreadful start to the game and trailed the home side after Garvin Dolan opened Roscommon's account from a 45 and he and midfielder Seamus O'Neill pointed from play to open up a three-point gap.

The champions didn't register their first score until the 24th minute, when Michael Meehan pointed, but they went on to record unanswered scores from Nicholas Joyce (three) and centre half back Darren Mullahy to take an unlikely 0-5 to 0-3 lead at the break.

Galway went on to dominate the second half and further points from midfielders John Devane and Damian Burke, along with another converted free from Joyce, gave them a comfortable 0-8 to 0-3 advantage by the time O'Neill got Roscommon's first point after a 27-minute scoreless spell.

So dominant were Galway that they could afford to shoot a total of 11 second-half wides and still run out easy winners.

GALWAY: B Donoghue; M Comer, R Murray, C Monaghan; K Brady, D Mullahy (0-1), A Burke; J Devane (0-1), D Burke (0-1); E Killeen (0-1), B Cullinane, D Ward; B Colleran, M Meehan (0-3, two frees), N Joyce (0-3, one free), Subs: C Murphy for Comer (inj); S Moran (0-1) for Killeen.

ROSCOMMON: G Claffey; E Ryan, G Aherne, S Sharkey; J Nolan, S Tiernan, E Towey; S O'Neill (0-2), A Dockery; K Dolan, R Cox (0-1), G Heneghan; I Kilbride, G Dolan (0-2), J Egan. Subs: P O'Connor for Tiernan, S McDermott for Heneghan, E McCormack for Kilbride, M Finneran for Dockery.

Referee: E Stenson (Leitrim)