Lessons for Sligo in the air dome
ANOTHER game under their collective belt, more miles in the legs and more lessons learned. Sligo couldn’t follow up their win over Leitrim with a defeat of Roscommon but the scores still flowed indoors at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome last Saturday night. Unfortunately for Sligo, it was Roscommon who turned up the heat in the temperature-controlled venue, shooting 26 scores compared to Sligo’s 21, although two late goals for the Rossies distorted the final score.
It is Roscommon, not Sligo, who’ll take on Galway in the decider.
“I think the scoreline was harsh on us,” Sligo boss Tony McEntee reflected. “Before half-time the penalty was a chance for us to be only four points down.
“For large parts of the second-half, certainly up until the last five minutes, there were a lot of good stuff from us.” He continued: “Roscommon’s inside forwards are good but I was disappointed with the amount of possession they got in there, a lot of good ball was played into them out front – both [Donie] Smith and [Conor] Cox scored prolifically.”
“I think we were also losing a lot of secondary possession – breaking ball – around the middle. I would like us to
HAND UP: Sligo forward Niall Murphy calls a mark against Roscommon in last Saturday’s FBD Connacht GAA Senior Football League tie at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome. Murphy scored 0-13 in this game. be competitive for longer spells.
“In saying that, there were a lot of positives for us. That is the second game in a row that Niall Murphy has scored 13 points [he scored 1-10 against Leitrim and 0-13 here].
“Pat Hughes played some good football and Alan Reilly looked lively up until the middle of the second-half. “We also got game time for three or four other fellas and, in midfield, Conan Marren looked good in parts of the game.”
“The benefit of these games is that it gives you a chance to look at certain players. We are not going away from this disappointed – we know we have things to work on and things to improve upon,” McEntee added.
“We will be going into the National Football League campaign on the back of a lot of positivity from these games.”
Meanwhile, Curry’s John Gilmartin, one of the county’s leading referees and an inter-county whistler, is the match referee for this week’s FBD Connacht GAA Senior Football League final between Galway and Roscommon at the NUI Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome in Bekan. This game takes place tomorrow, Friday, at 5.45pm. It will be livestreamed by Connacht GAA.
The Roscommon backroom team features Sligo native Luke Bree and Sligo Rovers goalkeeping coach Leo Tierney.
FBD Connacht Senior Football League
SLIGO LOSE TO ROSCOMMON IN A SEMI-FINAL:
Sigerson Cup