After a bright
opening half that saw them reach the break just two points off the lead and going
toe to toe with their Div 2B League final conquerors, Sligo’s hurlers found themselves
very much on the wrong side of a dominant Derry team in the second half of their
Christy Ring Round 2 match at Markievicz
Park on Sunday last.
In gray and cool conditions
that matched the mood at the end, Sligo failed to score for over 30 minutes
from the fifth to the 36th minute of the second half and fell to a
15 point defeat in the end 0-11 to 2-20.
The game had opened
slowly but evenly with just a point each in the first ten minutes – Sligo’s
score coming from an Andy Kilcullen free. The home side took the lead two minutes later
when Gerard O’Kelly Lynch pointed a 65 and then followed up with a point from
play.
While Derry
responded in kind to edge ahead again, Joe McHugh’s point on 20 minutes – his first
of the game brough the score to 0-4 each.
A point each from the
Cawley brothers - Finian and Tomás – followed by two for O’Kelly Lynch put
Sligo back in the ascendency, with Derry hitting two in reply to leave the gap
at two points in favour of the home side with three minutes to go to half time.
It was to be as
good as it got for Sligo. A goal and a point in added time tipped the Foylesiders
into the lead – 1-7 to 0-8 – at the break and they never looked back.
After an early burst
that yielded two points each – Michael Munnelly and Andy Kilcullen were on the
mark for Sligo – Derry took over and shut out their opponent from the fifth to
the 36th minute of the half, during which time they doubled their score from
1-9 to 2-18.
Michael Munnelly
got a point for Sligo in the first minute of added time but Derry still found
time to add two more points to end a dominant display with a 2-20 to 0-11
margin.
Given the relatively
narrow margin between the teams in two previous games this season, both the defeat
and the size of it were unexpected and almost certainly put an end to Sligo’s
aspirations for a place in the Christy Ring Cup final with attention now turning
instead to retaining a place in the championship’s third tier for next year.
SLIGO: Jimmy Gordon; Niall Kilcullen, Mark Hannify, Kevin O'Kennedy; Gavin
Connolly, Rory McHugh, Niall Feehily; Finnian Cawley (C) (0-1), Patrick Foley; Michael
Munnelly (0-2), Gerard O'Kelly-Lynch (0-4 3f), Conor Hannify; Joe McHugh (0-1),
Andy Kilcullen (0-2 2f), Tomás Cawley (0-1).
Subs: Tony O'Kelly-Lynch for F Cawley
(52), Eoin Comerford for J McHugh (52), Kevin Gilmartin for A Kilcullen (59), Ronan
Forkan for C Hannify (63), Fionn Connolly for R McHugh (65), Eoghan Rua McGowan
for O'Kennedy (b/s 68).
DERRY: O O'Doherty; C Hendry, M Craig,
D McCloskey; M McGrath (0-1), C Kelly, P Kelly; C O'Doherty (0-5 4f '65), D
McGilligan (0-1); J Mullan (0-1), F Bradley, R Mullan (0-2); D Foley (0-4), O
McKeever (1-3), G Bradley (1-4).
Subs:E McGill for D McCloskey (h/t),
R Mulholland for D McGilligan (59), B Laverty for F Bradley (63), M Lynch for P
Kelly (63), T McHugh for J Mullan (65), L E Campnell for T McHugh (b/s 74).