Kobe McDonald blasted two first half goals as Mayo ran out 10 points winners over Galway in the top of the table clash in the Dalata Hotel Group Connacht Under-20 football championship meeting in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
The teenage star, who made waves in the Allianz Football League with stellar cameo performances against Monaghan and Armagh, struck two goals in the second quarter Mayo built up a 13-point half-time lead, 2-11 to 0-04, albeit with the aid of ferociously strong breeze.
Galway, with Mikey Mulryan to the fore, sought to whittle down the deficit after the interval but Dylan Flynn's 47th minute goal killed the chance of a revival.
Mulryan notched a couple of two-point frees before tagging on a goal, but the hosts ran out 3-16 to 1-12 winners to secure automatic passage to the final.
Galway will face Roscommon in the semi-final after the latter just about pipped Leitrim in King & Moffatt Dr Hyde Park.
Roscommon led on the odd score of 3-03 to 1-02 at half-time, John Curran scoring two goals (of a 2-04 total), while John McGuinness found the net for the third, aided by a deflection.
Leitrim needed to win by seven points to sneak third place in the table at Roscommon's expense. A Jack Kelly two-pointer and a Frankie McGuinness propelled them back into the game but they lost by two in the finish, 3-06 to 2-07.
A late, late goal from Conor O'Neill saw Tyrone snatch victory from under Derry's nose in their Ulster quarter-final clash at Celtic Park.
Johnny McGuckian's late point looked to have sealed a semi-final spot for the hosts but then O'Neill popped up with an injury-time strike. Shea McDermott tagged on another point at the death to make it a 1-11 to 0-12 scoreline.
Tyrone will face Donegal in the first semi-final, while Monaghan will tussle with Armagh in the other after overcoming Cavan in Kingspan Breffni.
Max Maguire's first-half goal was crucial to help Monaghan stay in touch after a poor start. Trailing by three at the break, they took control down the stretch, with Maguire - who landed a huge two-pointer to put them in front - and Tom Doherty to the fore. They saw it out to win 1-17 to 0-16 and progress to the last four in Ulster.
Longford reached the semi-finals of the Leinster Under-20 football championship after digging out a two-point win over Offaly in Newtownforbes.
The midlanders had finished second in Group 2 following wins over Laois and Carlow and a heavy defeat to table toppers Meath.
First-half goals from Max Gallagher and Cormac Flynn saw them lead by the minimum, 2-07 to 1-09, at the break, Dylan Dunne bagging a goal for Offaly.
Paddy Mollagan's second-half goal pushed Longford four clear. While Offaly narrowed the deficit, the hosts held on to book a last-four spot against Louth.
Meath will have a further wait to find out their opponents after their quarter-final between Kildare and Westmeath was postponed at half-time.
Kildare led 0-06 to 0-03 at the midway point in Kinnegad, however a half-time pitch inspection from referee Ian Howley resulted in the game being abandoned.
HURLING
Cork landed six of the last seven scores to overhaul Waterford in a low-scoring contest in Fraher Field, eliminating the latter from the championship.
The Rebels entered the game on the back of one win and one loss, bouncing back from their loss to Tipperary with a nine-point win over Limerick.
Waterford, meanwhile, needed a win following narrow defeats to Clare and Tipp.
The hosts looked primed to register their first win with 10 minutes left. Trailing by just a point at the break after playing against the breeze, they took command in the third quarter.
Points from Mark Hartley, Conor Tobin and David Comerford saw them nudge 0-12 to 0-09 clear entering the closing stages. However, they stalled from there, with Cork powering for home, Jack O'Brien finishing with a 0-10 point haul in total.
Noel Furlong's side won 0-16 to 0-13 to go top of the table, though Clare and Tipperary have a game in hand. Waterford, after a third unlucky loss, bow out.
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