All Sligo
showdown
Two
Sligo schools are set to contest the Connacht Colleges Senior ‘A’ league final
for the first time in the competition’s history when Summerhill College and St
Attracta’s Community School, Tubbercurry, lock horns at Connolly Park, Collooney on
Saturday afternoon (2pm throw-in).
The
Sligo schools, both of whom have seen an upturn in fortunes in recent years at
senior level, qualified for the final before Christmas with Summerhill College
attempting to retain the title, having beaten Roscommon CBS in last year’s
decider.
Intriguingly,
when the two sides met in the group stages they played out a 1-10 to 0-13 draw.
The
novel pairing will see a number of county minor players from both the 2015 and
2016 panels line up on opposite sides.
Summerhill
College, who also reached the 2015 Connacht Colleges ‘A’ Championship final
only to lose to Roscommon CBS by a point, will look to Patrick O’Connor, Kyle
Cawley and Nathan Rooney for inspiration. O’Connor, who will be one of the
protagonists for David Cummins’ Sligo minor team in 2016, is likely to line out
at midfield.
Kyle
Cawley’s superb 2015, which saw him score 1-6 for St Mary’s in their county
final defeat of Curry in October, has earned him a call-up to the Sligo senior
squad and he has been hugely influential for the Sligo town school in their
journey to the final.
Though
St Attracta’s have less experience at ‘A’ level, they boast a hugely impressive
squad.
Tourlestrane’s
Liam Gaughan, man of the match in the drawn Connacht Minor final with Galway
last July, is likely to be the livewire for the south Sligo school up front,
while Gerard Perry and Nathan Mullen, a county U21 panellist, will also feature
heavily for Colm McGee’s side.
St
Attracta’s will, however, be without the services of 2015 Sligo minor captain
Eddie McGuinness, who is ruled out through injury.
It
promises to be an extremely hard-fought encounter on Saturday afternoon, so
make sure to be part of what is expected to be a big crowd to see who will be
crowned Kings of Sligo, and Kings of Connacht.