Manning Cup victory for Sligo
SLIGO were crowned Fr. Manning Cup champions for the second year in succession, following a six-point victory over Laois, in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, on Saturday afternoon.
Sligo were comfortably the better side, as they led throughout the match, with ten different players getting their names on the scoresheet.
The victors opened the scoring, with a point from Michael Langan, before Simon McKeon’s effort doubled Sligo’s advantage.
Luke Casserly then fisted a point, before McKeon doubled his tally, to give the Connacht side a four-point lead with just five minutes played.
Colin Dunne opened Laois’s account with a free in the ninth minute, which was cancelled out following a point from Conor White.
Dunne responded with two more points however, to halve the deficit, as just two points separated the teams at the end of the opening quarter.
Sligo then registered two points from White and Canice Mulligan, before Conor Kelly opened his account.
Points from James Kiernan and Adam Gallagher gave Sligo a 0-9 to 0-4 lead at the interval, though Laois almost had a goal just before the break, as Brian Smith’s shot was saved superbly by the Sligo goalkeeper.
Ciaran O’Reilly’s point was the first of the second half, though Laois almost had a goal shortly after, with Conor Kelly’s 35th minute effort coming back off the crossbar, to the relief of the sizeable Sligo contingent present at the game.
Dylan Walsh and Dunne traded points, before Laois got their first goal courtesy of the latter. Josh Hogan found Dunne with a pass and the Laois full-forward made no mistake with the finish, to reduce the deficit to three points, with five minutes remaining. The insurance score for Sligo came in the 59th minute however, as Brian Byrne fisted the ball to the net, after a free from Dylan Walsh. This score sealed a well-deserved victory for Daragh Fallon’s side, who were impressive throughout.
Sligo would finish the game with 14 men, as Canice Mulligan was shown a black-card in stoppage time and there was not enough time left to bring on a replacement.
Scorers for Sligo: B Byrne 1-0, S McKeon and C White 0-2 each, M Langan, L Casserly, C Mulligan, J Kiernan, A Gallagher, C O’Reilly and D Walsh 0-1 each.
Scorers for Laois: C Dunne 1-4 (3f), C Kelly 0-1
SLIGO: Jack Lundy; Sean Clifford, James
Burns, Mark Heraghty; Luke Casserly, Canice Mulligan, James Kiernan; Brian Byrne, Ciaran O’Reilly; Simon McKeon, Dylan Walsh, Cian Oates; Adam Gallagher, Conor White, Michael Langan.
Subs: Thomas Langan for Kiernan (41),
Adam Kearns for Lundy (52, B/S), Jack Lundy for Kearns (53, B/S reversal), Conor Mitchell for M Langan (58)
LAOIS: Sam Krebs; Ben Dempsey, Kian Lawlor, Dan Daly; Simon Fingleton, Ben Reddin, Daire Scully; Brian Smith, Conor Heffernan; PJ
Ward, Oisin Hooney, Ross Meredith; Odhran Delaney, Colin Dunne, Conor Kelly.
Subs: Josh Hogan for Delaney (h-t), Dylan Murphy for Heffernan (38), Sam Birrane for Ward (45), Lee Daly for Dunne (63).
Referee: Michael O’Brien (Longford).