Masters all set to meet Tyrone in semi-finals
THERE are two semi-finals Sligo are involved in this weekend with both the Ladies and Masters in action.
Sligo Masters travel to Lacken, Co. Cavan to take on Tyrone this Saturday, August 18th at 1.30pm. Having enjoyed five wins out of six in the group stages, Sligo will look to reach their second final on the trot.
Tyrone won the secondary competition, the Shield, last year.
They finished level on points with Roscommon after the group stages, but overcame them by seven points, 2-13 to 0-12, in their play-off a fortnight ago.
Sligo have prepared with challenge games with Roscommon and Mayo, both of whom will contest in the Shield semi-finals.
The Roscommon game to celebrate 25 years of Gurteen Community Pitch saw very generous patrons and players donate to a bucket collection for Down Syndrome Sligo.
Sligo will have to dig deep to better the 2015 All-Ireland champions due to their injury list (Paraic Doohan, Con O’Meara and Michael Moyles), and the unavailability of a number of key players for a host of reasons including club duties.
However, Gerry Monaghan’s and Ronan Keane’s charges have resolve as evidenced in their onepoint wins over Roscommon and Mayo, and they’ll have no fear of anyone in this competition.
The semi-final pairings were decided by open draw at the recent launch of the knock-out stages for the Masters’ Gaelic Football competitions in the Westgrove Hotel & Conference Centre in Clane, Co. Kildare.
Masters’ Gaelic football provides inter-county competition for players of forty years and over.
It is growing from strength to strength, with Clare, Dublin and Down joining the competition this season and more looking to join for 2019.
16 counties competed this year, and after 6 rounds of games the competing sides for the three competition semi-finals were decided. It took a play-off last weekend to decide the last semi-finalist in the top tier competition, the Masters’ All-Ireland, with Tyrone defeating Roscommon.
Roscommon now compete for the second-tier competition, the Shield.
The Masters’ semi-final draw was held for the three competitions with Kildare legend, Tommy Carew, All-Ireland under-21 winner in 1965 & captain of the winners of the first ever Masters’ title in 1990 when Kildare defeated Tyrone, pulling the names out with Masters’ Chairman, John Pat Sheridan, in the open draw.
The following are the times and dates for the various games:
All-Ireland semi-finals, dou- ble header in Lacken, Co. Cavan on Saturday August 18th: Tyrone vs Sligo at 1.30pm; Donegal vs Dublin at 3.30pm. Shield semi-finals: Roscommon vs Galway in Pairc Chiaran, Ath- lone, at 7.45pm on Wednesday August 15th; Mayo vs Cavan, Kilglass, Co. Roscommon at 7.30pm on Thursday August 16th Plate semi-finals, double header in the Downs GAA, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath on Saturday August 18th: Kildare vs Longford/Leitrim at 1.30pm; Clare vs Down @3.30pm.
Sligo Masters will be hoping to finish the season with another big victory.