All-Stars show steel in big win
McCarthy was on fire for IT Carlow in this period as he landed 8 early points for the home side. He was ably assisted by James Butler who added 6 towards the end of the quarter. Sligo’s defence lacked intensity during this quarter and it certainly translated itself to the scoreboard as they trailed by a huge 17 points at the end of the half with IT Carlow leading 41-24.
While the 3rd quarter has been Sligo’s weakest in some of their recent home games it was the making of them in this game. The Northern Conference’s Most Valuable Player for the month of December, Sligo’s Zack Yonda, started the quarter brightly and attacked the Carlow basket. His efforts drew fouls from the Carlow defence and he added 3 points from the Free Throw Line as well as 2 points from play in the early stages of the quarter.
Coach of the month, Carlos Rodriquez, also started to make changes to All-Star’s play and the intensity of the away team’s defensive efforts improved significantly during the quarter. This was the foundation upon which the All-Stars eventual win was built Zack Yonda took a heavy fall midway through the quarter and had to leave the game. Sligo’s other American Victory Scholar, Connor McClenaghan came into the game and helped himself to 6 points as Sligo pulled themselves back into the contest. Two of Sligo’s homegrown players also started to have a significant impact on the game during this 3rd quarter with Oisín O’Reilly scoring 4 points and Cian Lally adding 7 points towards the end of the quarter. All-Stars had scored more in the 3rd quarter than they had in the whole of the first half and the game was nicely poised at the end of the 3rd with IT Carlow leading EJ’s Sligo All-Stars by 57-50.
All-Stars started the 4th quarter in determined style and shut out the first Carlow attack before going down the other end of the court and landing a big 3-pointer courtesy of O’Reilly. Carlow responded with two Free Throws from Sourke. A scrappy couple of minutes followed as both sides worked hard on defence and scores were hard to come by. Drumcliffe’s Cian Lally added a Layup for All-Stars before McClenaghan literally put his body on the line for his All-Stars team as he took a big hit from a Carlow player attacking the basket. An Offensive foul was called and McClenaghan’s bravery was rewarded. McCarthy and Lally traded baskets again and All-Stars still trailed by 2 with just under 4 minutes to go. Sligo’s defence were really getting on top at this stage and their Point Guard Inigo Zabalo was asserting his authority on the offensive end of the court. First up, he set up Mat- thew Donnellan for a layup attempt but Donnellan was fouled going for his shot and scored one from two at the Free Throw Line. Carlow responded with a basket from Julian O’Keefe to extend their lead back to 3 points. Zabalo was then fouled and with Carlow on Team Fouls was sent to the Free Throw Line where he converted both attempts successfully. The lead was down to the minimum with just 3 minutes remaining. Another shut out by Sligo’s defence gave them the opportunity to finally get the lead and on their next attack they did just that. Another foul by Carlow gave Jesus SanMartin two Free Throw attempts and he made no mistake with them. All-Stars finally lead by 1 point. It didn’t last long though as Carlow responded immediately with a 3-pointer from O’Keefe to put them back ahead by two. Zabalo levelled it again for All-Stars with a nice back handed layup following a good offensive rebound which he won himself. Following another defensive shut out Lally then put AllStars in front with a strong drive to the basket. Sligo’s defence again held strong against Carlow’s next attack and then Zabalo converted another Layup to put the away side 4 points up with just 22 seconds left. With Carlow desperate to win the ball back they fouled Jesus SanMartin in the last seconds and he scored another two from two from the Free Throw line before adding another basket at the end to ensure the win for All-Stars on a scoreline of 7467. A game that never looked like it was there for Sligo had suddenly become their 6th straight victory.
Next up on Saturday the 19th of January is a Home Game against a very strong Ballincollig side who top the Southern Conference of the Men’s Division 1. Indeed, Ballincollig were unbeaten until last weekend where their 16-game winning streak was put to an end by KUBS from Dublin. With Sligo on a 6-0 winning streak and Ballincollig coming off the back of an unexpected defeat this promises to be another hugely exciting game in the Mercy College gym. (Tip off 7.30pm, Saturday 19th January).
Top scorers for EJ’s Sligo All-Stars were Cian Lally 17, Oisín O’Reilly 13, Inigo Zabalo 10.
EJ Sligo All-Stars: Zack Yonda (C.), Connor McCleneghan, Jesus SanMartin, Matthew Donnellan, Oisin O’Reilly, Aaron Walsh, Mark Chambers, Cian Lally, Inigo Zabalo, Jamie Callaghan. YONDA AND RODRIQUEZ NAMED PLAYER & COACH OF THE MONTH. SLIGO R.F.C. 29 BUCCANEERS 22 ANOTHER page was added to the annals of Sligo RFC last Saturday as the U16s Girls won their semi-final on a bitterly cold day in Hamilton Park, to reach the U16 Girls Connacht league final. A large home crowd had turned out to cheer the girls on and they weren’t disappointed with the nine-try thriller and flowing rugby on display. This was a fast-paced game, with Sligo first to get points on the score board as Cliodhna O’Sullivan raced past her opposite number to dot down under the posts, for her first try of the game, which she duly converted. Cliodhna went on to score another three tries and convert another one, bringing her personal tally to 24 points. Emma Cox added a try of her own try to bring the final score to 29points. Giselle Gallagher made her presence felt putting in several big carries and tackles, while playing with a heavily bandaged sprained thumb. Amy Hampson controlled the game well at scrum half and Buccaneers had trouble containing her darting runs. At the breakdown, Enya Hughes made some important steals during the game. Bebhinn Harte caused Buccs’ problems in the centre with a lot of hard yards running at the defence. This was a great team effort by all 19 players, with tough tackling and hard running throughout. Many of the girls have only been playing rugby since September and their progress is testament to their hard work and dedication. Sligo R.F.C. U16 girls will now take on Tuam/Oughterard in the Connacht final on January 19th. SLIGO: Giselle Gallagher, Jasmine Morgan, Jenny Gregg, Teresa Devaney, Grace Molloy, Enya Hughes (c), Amy Hampson, Mia Clinch, Cliodhna O’Sullivan, Bebhinn Harte, Lucy Morrison, Katelynn Benson, Emma Cox, Meagan Callaghan, Hannah Kerins, Brid Madden, Grace Mulholland, Gennie Griffith, Claire Keegan.
U16 boys too strong for Tuam SLIGO 18
TUAM 7
SUNDAY saw Sligo RFC U16s home against Tuam, who had previously beaten Sligo over the last two years. Both teams needed a win to progress to the league semi-finals. The game started with a minute’s silence led by ARCB referee Mr David Layden, in recognition of club stalwart Eddie O’Hehir’s passing that same morning. The home side started strong with a kick off from Tuam, that saw Sligo bring the ball back to the half way line. The game was tight, but Sligo fought hard and secured their first converted try early on, something that seemed to unexpectedly rattle Tuam. Added pressure saw Sligo back into the red zone and a penalty scored. The second half again saw the home side put the pressure on the visitors and score a try, which remained unconverted against a strong wind. Tuam though had decided the game wasn’t lost and put the pressure on, resulting in a Sligo player sin binned for continued team indiscipline. Tuam kept calm and made the most of this disruption to score a try and convert it. Game on. Sligo held strong against building Tuam pressure and held out for a much-needed win to ensure their progression into the league semi-finals. Sligo tunnelled up and applauded Tuam off the pitch, reciprocated by Tuam. Given the emotion of the morning, it was then fitting that the Sligo lads, in their team huddle, came together to applaud Eddie O’Hehir and everything he did for the club. The Sligo U16 team, coaches and management, past and present, would like to express their sincere condolences to coaches Michael and James O’Hehir and player Fionn O’Hehir on the passing of beloved and much-missed brother and uncle.
SLIGO: Adam Fox, Adam Hunter, Ben Garvey, Brady Lynch, Ciaran Cawley, Ciaran Dolan, Conal Kennedy, Cormac Fahey, Conor Mullaney, Dara Foy, Eoin Ryan, Evin Ballantine, Ewan Ripon, Fionn Feeley, Fionn O’Hehir, Jim Sweeney, Kian Reynolds, Leo Layden, Liam Candon, Niall O’Connor, Oisín Cregg, Oisín Diffley, Olan Martin, Ronan Gray, Sean Gilvarry, Sonny Muldoon, Eoghan Lang, Hugo Filan. Coaches Michael O’Hehir, James O’Hehir, Wes Maxwell. John Garvey, Mark Fox, Hagan MacQuaid.
Eddie O’Hehir RIP
It was with profound sadness that the members of Sligo RFC learned of the passing of dear friend and member Eddie O’Hehir last Sunday morning. On behalf of the President, Chairperson, Committee, players and members of Sligo RFC we extend our deepest sympathies to Caroline, Garry, Rachael, Dannielle and Aisling, to Eddie’s brothers and sisters Mary, Connie, Colette, Jan, Jim, Jacqueline, Michael, Hugh, Lorna, Cathal, Enda and Irene, and to the wider O’Hehir and Henry families. It is seldom that a sporting club has members that extend beyond a few relatives with interests in the sport, however when it comes to the O’Hehir family, Sligo RFC is most fortunate to have representation from them at all levels within the club. The O’Hehirs have provided generations of players, coaches, members, friends, committee members, Juvenile and Youth Co-ordinators, Past Presidents, generous sponsors and huge rugby fans of both the local, provincial and the international game. Eddie was introduced to rugby at Sligo RFC in the Juvenile Section during the 70s. He moved to Dublin and joined Bective RFC where he played for a time. In more recent meetings between Bective RFC and Sligo RFC in the All Ireland League, his time with Bective was recalled fondly by their current incoming President who packed down with Eddie during his own time as a Bective player. Eddie returned to Sligo and played with the Club in the 1980s and 1990s where he served as a stalwart front row player to many senior and junior teams over the years. A huge international fan, Eddie joined by Caroline became frequent travellers to Dublin, London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Paris, Rome and beyond in support of Ireland’s rugby endeavours. As Garry grew up through the Club, Eddie was an ever present helping at Juvenile and Youth training and games. One of his more recent roles in the club was lining the pitch which he performed diligently ensuring that the club always looked its best on match day. Seldom did he miss a senior game in the club and even in more recent times, despite his illness he made sure he was on the side line to cheer Sligo on from his preferred side line spot, just inside the main gate. Eddie will be sadly missed by his many friends at Sligo RFC, may he rest in peace.
Club President, Chairman, Committee and Sligo RFC members would also like to extend their deepest sympathy to the Bell family of Dorrins Strand on the death of Johnny Bell, former club member and Junior player. Gone too soon Johnny. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
Irish Honours for Donnacha Byrne & Matthew Early
Well done to Donnacha Byrne and Matthew Earley from Sligo R.F.C. U18.5s who played with Irish U18 Schools and Clubs teams last week. Donnacha trained with Ireland U18 Schools at Lansdowne Road from the 28th - 30th December and then played a clubs & schools combined team, Matthew played for the Irish Club side against Donnacha.
Sligo lads fly the flag at Connacht U16 & U17 level WELL done to Ewan Ripon, Niall O’Connor, Adam Hunter and Oisín Cregg, 4 members of Sligo R.F.C. U16s who did their club proud when they played with Connacht U16s in Donnybrook against Bray Presentation College earlier this week. Micheal Broaders was the club’s sole representative at Connacht U17 level, when they played Crescent College last week. JUVENILE Training
U7S to U12s are back in action next Saturday. Parents are reminded to ensure their child is dressed for the weather. Happy New Year to all.