Tourlestrane play their way out of relegation trouble
Cathal Henry scored one of the Tourlestrane goals in their ten points win against neighbouring Curry.
Curry will contest the Sligo SFC relegation final for the second time in twelve months as neighbours Tourlestrane proved too strong for them and guaranteed their own senior status for 2026. Last Sunday’s derby ended 2-16 to 0-12 in favour of the Green and Gold.
Curry opened the scoring through Jack Duffy but were struck back by four points on the spin for Tourlestrane, including from Brian Egan and Cathal Henry.
The sides were level twice in the opening half, with points forthcoming from Adrian Marren and Alan Reilly for Curry. However, the key score of the half came on 23 minutes as Cathal Henry found the back of the net to help his side into a 1-8 to 0-5 half-time lead.
The game was put beyond Curry shortly after the restart as Tourlestrane bagged a second goal through Cathal Henry and tagged on three more points before their opponents could raise their first flag of the half.
The chasers did register three points without reply, with a brace coming from Marren, to reduce the gap slightly, 2-11 to 0-8, but that was as good as it got, as Tourlestrane eased to victory.
Curry will face the losers of Easkey v Tubbercurry, who meet next weekend in the other relegation semi-final.
Meanwhile, Geevagh maintained their intermediate championship status with a 2-18 to 2-15 win against Owenmore Gaels, last year’s beaten finalists. Two goals inside the first two minutes, both by Pat Hughes, laid a big platform for the victory, with Geevagh leading 2-5 to 0-9 at the interval.
Owenmore Gaels struck two second-half goals through Dillion Walsh and Aaron Mullen but the experience of Geevagh showed as they managed the game well, with scores by Dara Moysten and Hughes ensuring a three points victory.
Owenmore Gaels must prepare for a relegation final against the losers of Castleconnor v St Patrick’s who meet next weekend.
This year’s Sligo junior ‘B’ football championship final will see Coolera-Strandhill take on Coolaney-Mullinabreena after their respective wins against St John’s and Shamrock Gaels last weekend.
Elsewhere, Easkey remain on course for a sixth senior hurling title in-a-row as they picked up their second win of the championship, beating hosts Naomh Eoin 3-15 to 0-16. A strong first-half performance proved vital as they led 2-11 to 0-8 at the break, with the goals coming from Patrick Walsh and Andrew Kilcullen.
Easkey also had some super first-half scores from Finnian Cawley, Donal Hanley and Thomas Cawley, while Naomh Eoin kept the scoreboard ticking with points from the O’Kelly Lynch brothers, Robert, Gerard and Tony.
Naomh Eoin got the opening three points of the second-half, all from frees, but Easkey managed to get a third goal through Adam Rolston to ensure they made it two wins from two.
Also in the hurling championship, Coolera-Strandhill beat Western Gaels by six points, 2-22 to 3-13. The winners did the hard work in the first-half when building a 2-14 to 0-9 advantage, with their goals supplied by Eddie O’Donoghue.
Western Gaels tired hard after half-time and despite netting three times in the second-half through Darragh Flynn and Aidan Morrison, the damage had been done.
The Sligo SFC semi-finals take place next weekend. At 8pm in Fr Kevin Breheny Park on Saturday, Shamrock Gaels take on St Mary's. At 4pm on Sunday in Kent Park, defending county and Connacht champions Coolera-Strandhill are up against Drumcliffe/Rosses Point. John Gilmartin and Barry Judge are the respective referees.
It’s also semi-final time in the Sligo JFC, with both games taking place next Sunday. At 2pm in Tubbercurry, St Michael’s face Eastern Harps. In Bunninadden at 4.30pm, it’s the clash of Cloonacool and St John’s.
At junior ‘B’ level, the championship final between Coolaney-Mullinabreena and Coolera-Strandhill will be played on Saturday next, September 20, with the game in Cloonacool throwing in at 5pm.
The footballers of Tubbercurry and Easkey are looking to avoid relegation from the senior championship and will face each other at 5pm next Saturday in Ballymote. The losers will have one last chance at survival against Curry. Similarly, Castleconnor and St Patrick’s/Dromard have an intermediate relegation semi-final next Saturday in Quigibar, which is also at 5pm. The losers will play Owenmore Gaels in the relegation final.
