Disastrous outcome reveals extent of rebuild required
FROM a distance, with just the scoreline to work with, this wasn’t exactly one of Sligo’s better days. Losing by 10 points, whatever the GAA format
(be it Gaelic football, hurling, Ladies Football or camogie), is never a good indicator of a team’s potential. What it does say is that the winners are powerful and/or the losing side are dismal.
Louth looked very, very good as the full-time whistle approached at Haggardstown last Sunday. But, in truth, it was easy for them to strut as Sligo had all but given up the ghost once the home side netted their second goal to go 2-11 to 1-10 up by the 44th minute.
This is something that manager Tony McEntee pointed out afterwards as a flaw to be addressed. Against Mayo in a few weeks Sligo are likely to be under the cosh and must remain stubborn and steadfast.
While Louth boast an array of powerful, capable players – full-back Dermot Campbell, midfielders Bevan Duffy and Ciaran Byrne, centre-forward Sam Mulroy and burly full-forward Conor Grimes – much of Sligo’s demise was self-inflicted.
The concession of 10 points (2-4) in the first 15 minutes of the second period was where this game was lost by Sligo and won by Louth. Sadly, both of these Louth goals were preventable.
Once the tide turned, there was a different Sligo team up against Louth. The version that has petered out in multiple fixtures before, under different managers. The Same Old Sligo (SOS) is the team that makes unforced errors and commits turnovers. Where players try too hard to force the next pass or overhit a point attempt.
Don’t forget, the Sligo team that turned up for the first-half, otherwise known as Promising Sligo, were excellent, both individually and collectively.
Against opponents who retreated into their own half, forcing Sligo to probe with patient, careful possession, Sligo made the right decisions, won breaks, earned frees, made interceptions.
There were overlapping runs, passes exchanged and sharp offloads. Mickey Gordon scored one of the best Sligo goals, Sean Carrabine continued his evolution into a calibre inter-county performer and Niall Murphy kicked an outside of the foot gem, a score conversion that encouraged up and coming players to please try this skill at home. This isn’t the Same Old Sligo, although that is what they ended up resembling for much of the second-half. New boss Tony McEntee has gathered some of the county’s better players and almost all of the best ones. But with a shortened pre-season and only three games (so far), so much work remains to improve this group. Based on their firsthalf display, there is scope for improvement. The second-half collapse was a stark warning of where Sligo must not return to. DEJECTED: Sligo players Eamonn
Kilgannon and Darragh Cummins.