Yeats boys are final bound as Breffni boys falter
Sligo’s Finnian Cawley scored 0-3 in their semi-final win over Cavan. Picture: David Farrell Photography
A strong second-half performance secured Sligo their place in next weekend’s Division 3A final of the Allianz Hurling League, coming from one point behind at half-time to eventually beat the visiting Cavan team by five points, in what was a very competitive game at Markievicz Park.
Sligo, who will now play for the second time in three weeks for the right to be crowned 3A champions, had started brightly against the breeze and after seven minutes were already four points ahead, with the O’Kelly Lynch brothers, Gerard and Tony, both on the scoresheet for the home side.
Thomas Leonard got Cavan off the mark and this was followed by a fine point from play by the impressive Nicholas Kenny who would go on to score eleven points in total, seven of them in the first-half.
Sligo had restored a three points lead thanks to Gerard O’Kelly Lynch’s 13th minute free (he would score a dozen points by full-time) when the Ulster men replied with four points on the spin to take the lead for the first time by the 17th minute, before a free from Gerard O’Kelly Lynch had the sides level once again at 0-6 apiece.
The accurate Kenny would add three more points before the break to ensure Cavan led at the break by the minimum, 0-9 to 0-8, despite a further point from Gerard O’Kelly Lynch and one from Finnian Cawley for the hosts.
The Yeats County, who had prospered by 4-19 to 3-18 when the teams had met in the opening round, began the second-half just like they had the first, in a positive fashion, and struck the opening three points to lead by two, with Cawley and O’Kelly Lynch again among the scorers.
A timely Nicholas Kenny free kept Cavan in touch but three more Sligo points without reply, with Thomas Cawley among those on target, saw the Black and White in command of the scoreboard, 0-14 to 0-10, with 49 minutes on the clock.
Cavan’s deficit was halved by points from Jack Barry and Nicholas Kenny but Sligo looked like they were in a very strong position when suddenly moving seven points clear by the 59th minute. However, the Breffni boys were determined not to lose out on a final place without a serious fight and they hit back with the game’s only goal, finished by Thomas Leonard, and a supplementary point as well, to reduce the gap to just three points.
But that was as close as the Blue and White could get to Sligo for whom Thomas Cawley’s third point of the match was their insurance score on the stroke of full-time.
The result sets-up a derby clash with Mayo next weekend, with Sligo out for revenge having looked to have been in a strong position to beat the Green and Red a fortnight ago in the final round of the ordinary campaign, only to surrender the lead on home soil.
