Sligo’s senior footballers emerged the narrowest of
narrow victors from a thrilling championship encounter in Carrick on Shannon on
Sunday that qualified them for a Tailteann Cup semi-final in two weeks’ time.
After a disastrous start that saw them concede a
goal and two points without reply in the opening six minutes, Sligo set the
pace almost all the way and were leading by four points as normal time elapsed
into added time at the end of the game.
The home side however managed to find the equalising
scores to bring the sides to extra time in which they could not be separated.
In the resulting penalty shoot-out, Sligo goalkeeper
Aidan Devaney saved the first Leitrim effort to give his side the early
advantage. His colleagues Nathan Rooney, Alan Reilly, Donal Conlon and Brian
Egan converted their side’s first four kicks leaving them 4-3 up as Leitrim’s fifth
kicker Emlyn Mulligan stepped up needing to score to keep his side in the game.
Devaney however had his measure and pushed the ball wide to send the black and white
hoards attending into ecstasy
Leitrim centre forward, Keith Beirne was the outstanding player of the day
setting his side on the way with the first two scores and accounting for half
his side’s scores (1-8) including the equalising scores at the end of both normal
time and extra time.
Despite the poor start, Sligo were very much the
better team over the first half, holding the home side scoreless for almost 30
minutes and leading 0-9 to 1-4 at the break, with Paddy O’Connor and Alan
Reilly leading the scoring.
Sligo had the first score of the second half to
stretch their lead to three but after an exchange of points, Leitrim hopes rose
when substitute Jordan Reynolds levelled matters ten minutes into the half with
a low shot from an acute angle after a searing run up the right wing,
Despite repeatedly failing to finish the many chances
that they were creating, Sligo did build back up a lead to be four ahead with
only minutes to go, only then to be reeled in by the Beirne led revival by
Leitrim that brought the game to extra time.
The first half of extra time started with a bang as Sligo survived the umpires ruling out a Leitrim goal as a square ball. The sides went on to exchange just a point each in the first half and then two each in the second but couldn’t be separated until the penalty
competition which played out at the town end and which brings Sligo back to Croke
Park for the first time in seven years.
LEITRIM: B Flynn; P
Maguire, M Diffley, C Reynolds; J Heslin, D Bruen, J Rooney; P Dolan, D Wrynn;
C McGloin, K Beirne (1-8, one mark), S Moran; D Flynn, E Sweeney (0-2), R
O’Rourke (0-1).
Subs: J Reynolds (1-1)
for McGloin (33 mins), Ryan O’Rourke (0-1) for Reynolds (43), M Plunkett (0-1)
for Heslin (51), D Rooney for Sweeney (58), D McGovern (0-1) for Flynn (66), E
Mulligan (0-1) for O’Rourke, C Farrell for Diffley (both 71), S Quinn for J
Rooney (74), T Prior for Moran (80).
Sligo: A Devaney; N
Mullen, E Lyons, P McNamara; L Towey, D Cummins (0-1), P Kilcoyne; P Laffey
(0-1), S Carrabine (0-4, one free); K Cawley, P O’Connor (0-6, two frees, one
mark), M Gordon; A Reilly (0-6), P Hughes, P Spillane.
Subs: D Conlon
for Hughes (56 mins), M Walsh (1-0) for Towey (58), C Marren for Spillane (63),
N Rooney (0-1, free) for Carrabine (67), P Spillane for Laffey (80), B Egan for
O’Connor (81).