Sligo made it two from two in Markievicz Park on Sunday. The wind which blew directly into the town goal (a full 180 from hurling day before) and a shower beforehand made conditions awkward for both sets of players. Like previous encounters with the Saffron men this was a tight affair throughout with a five minute spell early in the second half proving the winning of the game for Sligo when they moved out to 3 points in front. 

With Conor Griffin crying off with a broken thumb before hand it meant that Keelan Cawley and Neil Ewing started this week. Paddy O'Connor got the scoring going with an outside of the boot effort from distance in the first minute. Paddy Cunningham who was almost flawless from frees for the visitors replied with Liam Gaughan replying with a free and Red Óg Murphy scoring from play. After 15 minutes Antrim went into the lead 5 v 4, Gaughan getting another this time from play.  A good last ten minutes to the half saw an O'Connor free and points from play from O'Connor, Seán Carrabine and Darragh Cummins to leave Sligo 0-9 v 0-8 at the break. It was a lead that should have been bigger as we hit a number of wides however we had two lucky escapes especially when Mikey Gordon was last man standing on the goal line to save what looked like an Antrim goal for sure. 

Gerard O'Kelly Lynch came on at the break in place of Ewing. Murphy got his second of the day but two Cunningham frees kept the sides locked together. Pat Hughes came in for Lally who had a tougher day today in the 43th minute. 3 points in 3 minutes between the 48 and 50 minutes proved the winning of the game as O'Connor free and an excellent point from play that came up the field all the way from Aidan Devaney along with an exellent solo effort by Cawley who was substituted soon after. Both teams showed a lot of honest effort but there was mistakes as both sides became nervy. A Liam Gaughan free was followed by an O'Connor free after Hughes was fouled meant we lead by two going into 4 minutes of added time. Adrian Marren and Stephen Coen both hit wides in the added time and the only response was a Cunningham free. Just before the free Murphy was shown his second yellow for kicking the ball away but Sligo held out for a very important victory. 

Next week the team are away to Wicklow on Sunday in Aughrim at 2pm. 

Sligo:  Aidan Devaney, John F. Carr, Eddie McGuinness, Mikey Gordon, Nathan Mullen, Paul McNamara, Seán Carrabine(0-1), Paddy O'Connor (0-6, 3f)), Paul Kilcoyne, Keelan Cawley (0-1), Neil Ewing, Darragh Cummins (0-1), Liam Gaughan(0-3, 2f), Cian Lally, Red Óg Murphy (0-2). Subs:  Gerard O'Kelly Lynch for Ewing, Pat Hughes for Lally, Jodie O'Reilly for Cawley, Adrian Marren for Gaughan, Stephen Coen for Cummins