Much to improve on for Sligo ahead of Connacht semi-final

Tony McEntee knows there is plenty for Sligo to improve on despite a routine win over Leitrim in the opening round of the Connacht SFC.

“We’re happy with the outcome. I’m happy in particular with the second half against a very strong breeze. We controlled the game and we looked like a decent team. From the first half, we’ve things to improve on but it’s only the first championship game of the year so you’d expect improvements as you go along.

“I felt at half-time, that breeze was all of eight or nine point difference. I thought second half we’d be level pegging in that respect. We controlled the game very well against the breeze second half. We had a lot of possession and created good opportunities.” Leitrim’s big dangerman Ryan O’Rourke was well shackled throughout the tie, restricted to only a point, and credit the duo of Nathan Nullen and Evan Lyons for their marking of him.

“Ryan rightly needs to be respected. We had Mullen on him in the first half and when he was yellow cared, we put Evan Lyons on him. The two of them did a really good job on him. Very pleased with how they played and how the other players supported them.” There was plenty of talk on how Canice Mulligan would adapt to senior football following his electric displays for the U20 in recent years but he looked like a man built for senior inter-county football and McEntee called him ‘the best player on the field’.

“In the first half, he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He’s a superb athlete and plays far beyond his years. He’s strong and a good footballer. The young fella is superb.” Up next for Sligo is Galway, who made light work of London, in a repeat of last year’s Connacht final. The Yeats County were well beaten in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park last year and McEntee is looking for a much improved performance but knows his side face the tallest of orders.

“Galway is a superb team. They dominated the first half with the wind against London and controlled it from there. We saw them last year in the Connacht final they’re well drilled.

“It’s a game we look forward to. Our challenge is to see if we’ve closed since we last played them and see how it goes.” McEntee’s counterpart Andy Moran admitted it was one game too far for Leitrim, who were well depleted due to injuries as well as the loss of Barry McNulty and Jack Casey as a result of being in action for the U20s last Wednesday.

“Now Sligo are down a good few players too so I don’t want to make it that that’s the only thing because that wouldn’t be fair on Sligo but for us as a smaller county, it would probably be tougher.

“You go up to Portlaoise, you have to be really emotionally vested in the game, you come down and play Tipperary, you have to win the game, there’s emotion in that. Obviously you have the high of getting promoted - then you have to get yourself ready for Croke Park six days later and it was probably a step too far for us.

“I look at Conor Reynolds there, he has been playing with an injury for the last four weeks and he has been absolutely outstanding for us. For it to finish like that, I wouldn’t be happy with that for him but that’s the way it goes. Our biggest goal this year was to get promoted, have a good run with the U20s, a good run in the Tailteann Cup so that is still going.”