Reality check for Sligo as they falter in Newry
Men in black are outclassed by promotion certainties Down at Páirc Esler
Allianz Football League Division Three - Round Five Down 2-17 Sligo 1-8
MAYBE this is why Sligo should be delighted that they can embrace another year in Division Three rather than be dreaming of promotion to Division Two.
On the evidence of this poor display, Sligo are still not ready for the next level.
Last Sunday’s 12-point loss to Down at Newry’s Páirc Esler brought the men in black back down to earth and banished the momentum generated by three wins on the bounce – even if those impressive wins over Wicklow, Limerick and Antrim have guaranteed Sligo a further 12 months in the Allianz Football League’s third tier.
Sligo never got going against unbeaten Down and often weren’t allowed to because the home side’s relentless pressing, ferocious tackling and game management forced Sligo into cul-de-sacs and silly turnovers.
Sligo’s many mistakes didn’t help but this is an excellent Down side, one on the brink of promotion (they have a 100% record after five games), and they were well on their way to a fifth victory when Ceilum Doherty goaled after 18 minutes to put the winners six points up, 1-4 to 0-1. Doherty wore the number four jersey but his tally of 1-2 equalled the combined total of Sean Carrabine (0-4) and Niall Murphy (0-1), two Sligo forwards who came into this game with 1-26 between them from Sligo’s previous five games.
Down full-forward Pat Havern chipped in with 0-7, while Daniel Guinness and James Guinness, scorers of 0-2 and 1-1 respectively, also caused Sligo problems. Conor Laverty’s Down also hit the woodwork with a cracking goal shot from Daniel Guinness.
This was one of those awful days for Sligo and when the aforementioned Sean Carrabine and Niall Murphy were missing close-range frees, efforts they’d usually convert flawlessly, Sligo fans rightly suspected this might be a bad afternoon.
Then there was that uncharacteristic second-half mistake from Eddie McGuinness, usually an ultra-reliable defender, but the Tubbercurry man redeemed himself by getting back to block substitute Gareth McKibben’s goal shot.
Nathan Mullen’s 46th minute goal – a booming finish after a speedy run, with the Coolaney-Mullinabreena man having been found by an Aidan Devaney pass – was a thing of beauty but it was one of the rare highlights from a Sligo perspective.
Sligo, who were without the injured Pat Spillane, ought to have had at least two or three goals and perhaps the
COIN TOSS: Referee Barry Tiernan, performs the coin toss as the respective captains, Niall Murphy (Sligo) and Pierce Laverty (Down) watch on prior to the start of last Sunday’s Allianz Football League Division Three fixture at Páirc Esler, Newry.
full-back Ryan McEvoy’s block.
When the ball spilled to Cian Lally he was also denied a potential threepointer but there are some who’ll swear that a Down hand (not the goalkeeper’s) touched the ball on the ground in the small rectangle.
Sligo needed most of these moments to go their way and a return of nine scores was never going to impact against a Down outfit who registered an average of 17 scores in each of their four wins prior to hosting Sligo.
Sligo’s five points from play were decent finishes thanks to Patrick O’Connor, Alan McLoughlin, Cian Lally and Sean Carrabine.
Luke Towey, restored to the starting XV never hit full stride here, with Down aware of how menacing he can be. Canice Mulligan, last year’s U-20 captain, was bright when brought on and was one of three former U-20
players to see action in the second-half (the others being Lee Deignan and Daire O’Boyle).
Sligo manager Tony McEntee made no excuses. He stated: “We were well and truly beaten by a good team – Down moved well and they were very strong and aggressive. That was them missing a few key players as well.
“We can have no complaints – we didn’t show up and play the way we wanted to play. If we had scored a few more goals we would have been in the game, for sure, but I still think that they were that much better.”
McEntee added: “They were dominant is so many phases of the game. They were pressing us so hard that we found it difficult to get out of our own half.”
GAA Senior Football League. The north Sligo club secured promotion, along with champions Enniscrone-Kilglass, from Division Three in 2023. As in the case of St Michael’s, St Molaise Gaels approached the Competitions Control Committee and their case, backed by the CCC, was then given the ‘thumbs up’ by club delegates earlier this week.
It is likely that Owenmore Gaels, last year’s Connacht GAA Club Junior Football Championship runners-up who were relegated from Division Two, will stay in the second tier for another 12 months. Clubs were also informed that a win will be worth two points for the duration of this year’s Sligo GAA Senior Football League (in all four divisions).
Monday’s County Board meeting also signed off on the fixtures calendar for adult and underage competitions. The club Gaelic football
Best for Sligo: Cian Lally
Sligo: Aidan Devaney, Paul McNamara, Eddie McGuinness, Evan Lyons, Brian Cox, Darragh Cummins, Nathan Mullen (1-0), Patrick O’Connor (0-1), Paul Kilcoyne, Alan McLoughlin (0-1), Donal Conlan, Cian Lally (0-1), Luke Towey, Sean Carrabine (0-4, 2f), Niall Murphy (0-1, 1f)
Subs used: Lee Deignan, Canice Mulligan, Daire O’Boyle, Mikey Gordon, Keelan Cawley
Subs not used: Daniel Lyons (gk), Mark Walsh, Dylan Walsh, Peter Laffey, Eoghan Smith
Down: John O’Hare (0-1, 1 ‘45’), Peter Fegan, Ryan McEvoy (0-1), Ceilum Doherty (1-2, 1 ‘mark’), Miceal Rooney, Pierce Laverty, Ryan Magill, Jonny Flynn, Ryan Johnston, Caolan Mooney, Liam Kerr (0-1), Daniel Guinness (0-2), Danny Magill (0-1), Pat Havern (0-7, 6f), James Guinness (1-1) Subs used: Conor Francis, Oisin Savage (01), Gareth McKibben, Finn McElroy, Gerard Collins
Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin)
STANDINGS
ALLIANZ FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 3 W L A 5 0 62 5 0 53 4 1 59 3 2 72 2 3 77 1 4 75 0 5 93
0 5 101
1. Down
2. Westmeath
3. Clare
4. Sligo
5. Antrim
6. Offaly
7. Limerick
8. Wicklow
season – at adult level – begins on the weekend of April 6-7 with the Spring Leagues.
Club hurlers will start their year on the weekend of April 13-14 with games in the Martin Brennan Cup. The Senior Football League and the Senior Hurling League commence on the weekend of May 25-26.
Sligo GAA’s four Gaelic football championship finals – Senior, Intermediate, Junior ‘A’ and Junior ‘B’ – are scheduled for the weekend of October 26-28.
The county’s Senior and Intermediate competitions begin on the weekend of August 24-25, with the Junior ‘A’ and Junior ‘B’ competitions kicking off the previous weekend (August 17-18).
The final of Sligo GAA’s Senior Hurling Championship is set for the weekend of October 19-20. The competition starts in the first weekend of August (August 3-5).