Hurlers get season off with a win
road when Declan McGarry fired home in added time. But Brennan kept his nerve at the death to send over what was to be the deciding score.
The home side were sluggish to start and took nine minutes to register their first score. Gary Cadden and Keith Raymond scoring points from similar distances after John and Caolan Duffy had given Fermanagh an early lead.
Daithí Hand’s charges, without a number of regular starters, found themselves level at three a piece on 19 minutes when they were offered a great opportunity to steal the advantage.
Brian Shannon was sent sprawling by Fermanagh goalkeeper Mark Curry, but captain Eoin Comerford failed to make the most of his penalty as he fired low and wide from twenty metres.
Comerford and Lynch exchanged scores before Sligo forced the game’s first green flag. Kevin O’Kennedy’s effort to get his hurl to Cadden’s punt forward seemed to disorientate Curry in the away goal. The sliotar sneaking past the flat-footed net minder to extend Sligo’s advantage to three.
Rian O’Buaigh, one of twelve Lisbellaw club men in the Fermanagh starting team, made the most of the dying gale to send over two late frees from matching distance before the interval. Sligo heading to the dressing room with a one point lead.
It was the visitors who began the second half with gusto, sending over three unanswered points as the pendulum swung in the Ernesiders’ favour.
But Sligo struck back and were two behind on 47 minutes before they had the ball in the net for a second time. Brennan’s ball from the left was kept in play by a Sligo hurl as possession fell to Joe Starr who slammed past Curry from close range.
This tie became anyone’s game as both teams kept the score-keepers busy.
The lively Brennan, O’Kelly-Lynch, Starr and O’Kennedy chipping in with points for Sligo as O’Buaigh, Caolan Duffy and Barry McPhilips featured for Fermanagh. The black and white holding a slender two point lead with sixty seconds of normal time to go.
A superb catch and score on the turn from Starr along with O’Kennedy’s second had Sligo leading by four on the home stretch.
While an expert stop from Kevin Brennan saw him deflect Nathan Timoney’s goalward effort over his own crossbar.
Sean Duffy’s men must have thought they’d done enough to secure an opening day draw when McGarry hit the net to level proceedings on 72 minutes.
But that man Brennan kept his head in front of the posts on the next and final attack, earning Sligo two valuable points.
SLIGO: Kevin Brennan; Tomas Kelly (Ruairi Brennan HT) (0-4), James Weir, Cathal Jordan (Tom Brennan 48); Kevin Banks, Liam Reidy, Mark Comerford; David Collery (Niall McDermott 54), Gary Cadden (1-1); Brian Shannon, Kevin O’Kennedy (0-2), Eoin Comerford (0-1) (Kieran Prior HT) (0-1); Joe Starr (1-2), Keith Raymond (0-1), Tony O’Kelly-Lynch (0-2).
FERMANAGH: Mark Curry; Andrew Breslin, Rory Porteous, Diarmuid Russell (Ciaran Duffy 66); Dylan Bannon (Nathan Timoney 55) (0-1), Thomas Cleary, Francis McBrien; Conor McShea, Rian O’Buaigh (0-7); John Duffy (0-3), Eoin Cleary, Shea Curran (Declan McGarry 61) (1-0); Barry McPhilips (0-2), Mark Slevin (Ciaran Rafferty HT), Caolan Duffy (0-3) (Odhran O’Connor 74).
REFEREE: Rory McGann (Clare).
The lads looked for that next puck out, nobody had their heads down and it was a great score to win it.