The Sligo U20 footballers pictured before their Dalata Hotel Group Connacht U20 Football Championship clash with Leitrim.
Dalata Hotel Group Connacht U-20 Football Championship
GALWAY 1-11 (1-2-7) ROSCOMMON 0-14 (0-1-12)
LEITRIM 2-22 (2-4-14) SLIGO 5-17 (5-2-13)
By Kevin Egan at Tuam Stadium
Sligo will play knockout football in the Dalata Hotels Connacht U-20FC while Roscommon are also in the driving seat for a semi-final slot after two sharply contrasting games were played out in Drumshanbo and Tuam Stadium tonight.
The two results also mean that 2022 All-Ireland minor champions Galway look to be in huge trouble with just three points from their four games, and they will need Leitrim – now eliminated – to do them a favour in Dr. Hyde Park next Wednesday night by turning over the Rossies.
Manager Derek Savage said afterwards that “we had enough chances to win two games”, referring to his side’s 11 wides and the plethora of goal chances that went astray after Mikey Mulryan found the net in the opening minute for the Tribesmen.
Roscommon had their misses too, most notably in the first minute of second half stoppage time when Ryan Dowling shot wide from eight metres out with the goal at his mercy, but overall they were much more efficient and much more varied in their attacking, mixing up a kicking and a running game.
Galway instead relied heavily on the strong running of players like Seán Dunne, Cian Marks and in particular wing back Seán O’Connor, who seemed to break the line every time he took off in the first half, including his burst and shot to set up Mulryan.
For the next 28 minutes Roscommon scored eight points without reply with John Curran and Rory Carthy leading the attack, while Rory’s brother Eoghan was a dominant influence at the centre of the defence.
Eoghan Carthy also cleared an O’Connor shot off the line and the wing back pulled another shot wide of the target after exploding through the cover, with Seán Dunne also having a meek effort saved by Gaynor.
Two Colm Costello frees before half-time made it 0-8 to 1-2 and seemed to tip the balance back towards Galway who were set to play with a significant breeze, but Roscommon were much more controlled in possession in the second half, and with Galway refusing to push up and not going for many two-point shots, they led by four points (0-14 to 1-7) going into the last ten minutes.
Chances continued to go astray for Galway, most notably a pair of two-point shots that were pulled left and a strike from last night’s hat-trick hero in the U-20 hurling championship Ryan O’Donnell, which crashed back into play off the foot of the post.
Colm Costello did level the game with a two-point free at the death, but Galway now need a huge favour from Leitrim to extend their season.
Leitrim are also out of the hunt after they fell to a 5-17 to 2-22 defeat in a roller-coaster game in Drumshanbo, while that result means that Sligo will play in the semi-final game at least and they can top the group and go straight into the final if they beat Mayo next week.
Darren Cox and Jack Foley got the goals as Leitrim led by eight points after 20 minutes, but green flags from Connor Flynn and Tommy Ross pushed Sligo into a 2-12 to 2-9 interval lead after they produced a sensational finish to the first half.
Daire Callaghan, Flynn and Ronan Niland made the win safe with second half goals before Leitrim came outscored their neighbours by 0-7 to 0-1 in the closing minutes, with Paul Honeyman kicking over his third two-pointer and Adam Gethins catching the eye with two fine points off the bench.
