Finest of margins likely to separate clash of neighbours
Andy Moran will be hoping Leitrim get the rub of the green after a couple of very near misses against Sligo in recent seasons.
Sligo and Leitrim will battle for a place in this year’s Connacht SFC semi-final against Galway or London, with the two teams having served up of drama over the past two years. In the 2022 Tailteann Cup, Sligo came away with victory on penalties after the sides had finished level on the day, 1-19 to 2-16. Then , last year, Allianz Football League Division 4 went down to the wire to decide who would get promoted and contest the final. Sligo came away with a one point win, 1-15 to 2-11, after which they won the final and have since enjoyed a solid season Division 3.
Sligo had a disappointing start to this year’s campaign with a defeat away to Clare but they picked up with good wins against Wicklow, Antrim and Westmeath and just came up short in the promotion race. Meanwhile, Leitrim have enjoyed a successful Division 4 under Andy Moran, who is in his third year as manager. Moran guided his side to promotion but unfortunately they came up short in last Saturday’s league final against Laois.
But turning to next Sunday’s encounter, it’s probably fair to say both teams are looking at having good Tailteann Cup campaigns unless either side can make a Connacht final.
There will be plenty of Mayo interest in this fixture as not only is Andy Moran over Leitrim, but Sligo are coached by Joe Keane from Crossmolina and Kevin McLoughlin from Knockmore, who only retired from playing with the Mayo team last year.
Leitrim are coming into the game on the back of a heavy defeat to Laois in Croke Park but Darragh Rooney and Ryan O’Rourke were both the top scorers in the division and will have to be closely marked if Tony McEntee’s side are to progress. Moran will also have to make a big decision during the week about Barry McNulty and Jack Foley who are both also part of the Leitrim U20 panel which he manages and which is due to play Mayo on Wednesday evening in Ballinamore. If either plays on Wednesday, they would be ineligible to also play senior next Sunday which would be a hammer blow for Andy Moran.
Leitrim will definitely be without star forward Keith Beirne who hasn’t featured all year and will also have concerns over Conor Reynolds and Donal Casey who both came off injured in Croke Park.
Sligo, on the other hand, come into Sunday’s game on back of a free week after they came up short of promotion despite getting the better of the eventual Division 3 champions Westmeath in the final. The Yeats County’s top scorers in the league were Sean Carrabine, captain Niall Murphy and newcomer to the panel this year, Alan McLoughlin.
Boss Tony McEntee does have a couple of injury concerns coming into the game though, with Luke Towey definitely set to miss this game with a leg injury. Pat Spillane hasn’t played since the Antrim game because of a bad back while concerns remain over Patrick O’Connor and Brian Cox who both missed the outing against Westmeath.
The reality is that while this game is a Connacht quarter-final, for both sets of supporters it will feel more like a Connacht final given the closeness of the rivalry. Leitrim have not beaten Sligo in championship since 2011 and the question is, does the team possess enough of a scoring threat to finally end the heartache of the past two years and get one over the Black and White?
Sligo, in contrast, will be hoping the experience of playing Kildare, Roscommon and Dublin in last year’s All-Ireland Championship, allied with their strong Division 3 campaign, can stand to them.
Regardless of the outcome next Sunday, one thing seems certain and that is an afternoon of plenty of drama on Shannonside.
