Slick Sligo too sharp for Leitrim

Time spent in the Christy Ring Cup obviously served Sligo well as their slick and clinical side proved too strong for a battling Leitrim who pushed them all the way in an entertaining Allianz NHL Division 4 clash last Saturday in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

While there is no doubting that Sligo were the superior, their eight point winning margin certainly didn't reflect the intensity of the exchanges, the Yeatsmen only putting real daylight between the teams in the final quarter and even then only with the aid of two somewhat fortunate goals.

The first goal, 12 minutes into the second half, came as Leitrim were attempting to clear the lines but were hooked and, quick as a flash, Sligo got the ball into Gerard O'Kelly Lynch who flashed a brilliant shot past a helpless Clement Cunniffe.

Even with that body blow, Leitrim kept battling away and were only five down when Sligo struck for their second goal with eight minutes left in regulation time - this time,  Robert O'Kelly Lynch supplied the goal but not without a hint of controversy.

To this observer, the Sligo forward cleverly got away with a well timed drag down on full-back Conor Hackett, the referee unsighted and with that, the game was done and dusted.

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In all honesty, Sligo were the superior team - their stickwork and  skill on the ball showed the benefits of playing at a higher grade while their greater strength in depth meant they could cope with the absence of a few of their Easkey stars.

 Yet Leitrim will take a lot from this contest as they fought for everything and laid a good foundation for the rest of the campaign. 

Leitrim opened the scoring when Colm Canning scored a nice point from the wing a minute into the contest but the tone of the game was set pretty quickly with Robert O’Kelly Lynch punished a foul on his brother Gerard with a free. Leitrim hit back with a fine James McNabola score from the corner, set up by good work from Daniel Miller.

Sean O’Riordan converted the first of his frees after seven minutes as Leitrim now led by two points but Robert O’Kelly Lynch converted a free from the halfway line before Donal Hanley was denied a Sligo goal by a brave body block from a Leitrim defender. 

However, two Robert O’Kelly Lynch frees, one moved in for dissent, saw Sligo take the lead for the first time with Donal Keaveney scoring a fine point on 15 minutes, either side of two O’Riordan frees that didn’t hit the target.

Stephen Goldrick’s pass found Daniel Miller who scored a fine point to cut the gap back to one but Robert O’Kelly Lynch scored a fantastic effort under pressure from about 60 yards to restore the gap.

Pearse Kenny’s  clearance found Daniel Miller who won the ball under pressure to score from 50 years but the O’Kelly Lynch brothers were keeping Sligo’s scoreboard ticking over, Robert from a free and Gerard from play.

Joe Murray showed great alertness when he pounced on a loose ball after the referee threw the ball in, the Clondalkin man scoring an excellent effort from distance but Sligo answered, Rory McHugh thumped a monster shot from inside his own 50 yard line over the Leitrim crossbar to stretch the lead to three points.

Leitrim's Pearse Kenny breaks clear of two Sligo players Picture: Willie Donnellan

Daniel Miller was causing Sligo problems in the forward line and his hook on an attempted clearance saw him win the sliothar before scoring over his shoulder, a superb solo effort. He went one better a minute later, making a superb catch before firing over from distance after 33 minutes.

That left a point between the sides but Robert O’Kelly Lynch fired over another free in added time to leave Leitrim trailing 0-10 to 0-8 at the halftime break.

Leitrim would have been relatively happy at the break but Sligo were intent on breaking way quickly in the second half and another Robert O’Kelly Lynch free was followed by a Paul O’Brien score to open up a four point gap.

But in the space of two minutes, Leitrim responded with three Sean O’Riordan frees, one from halfway, to cut the gap back to a point - unfortunately, that was the closest Leitrim were to get for the rest of the game as Rory McHugh and Robert O’Kelly Lynch (free) immediately responded with points.

O’Riordan stemmed the tide for Leitrim from a free on the halfway line but disaster struck 12 minutes into the second half when the Green & Gold lost the ball while trying to clear it and Gerard O’Kelly Lynch blasted a rocket of a shot to the Leitrim net from a tight angle.

Leitrim were rocked by the goal but over the next six minutes, two O’Riordan frees, the second from almost on the stand sideline, cut the gap back to three points but Sligo were always able to get that score that kept them at arms length, Donal Hanley firing over before Gerard O’Kelly Lynch notched another.

O’Riordan and Robert O’Kelly Lynch swapped frees with five points between the teams with just over eight minutes of normal time left. But then Sligo struck for their second goal, Robert O’Kelly Lynch getting away with pulling full-back Conor Hackett back as they both went up for a high delivery, the Sligo man finishing expertly to the net.

Sligo subs Eddie O’Donoghue and Patrick Walsh both hit points either side of a Conor McLoughlin point. Michael O’Brien lofted over a fine point from long range before  Cunniffe made a good save to deny Patrick Walsh a goal, Walsh however scoring from a free incurred in the run-up to the shot.

Leitrim went looking for a late consolation goal but saw shots from Miller & McLoughlin kept out before Philip Burgess converted an injury time 65 to finish the scoring for the day.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Sean O'Riordan 0-8, 8f; Daniel Miller 0-4; Colm Canning, Philip Burgess (65), Michael O’Brien, Joe Murray, James McNabola & Conor McLoughlin 0-1 each

Team: Clement Cunniffe; Pearse Kenny, Conor Hackett, Kevin Clerkin; Colm Canning, Martin Feeney, Paul Lenehan; Philip Burgess, Daniel Miller; Michael O'Brien, Sean O'Riordan, Stephen Goldrick; Joe Murray, James McNabola, Senan Keane. Subs: Paul Mulligan for Keane (30); Conor McLoughlin for McNabola (HT); Dean Earley for Mulligan (59); Aaron Rynn for Canning (68); Aidan Dowler for O’Riordan (69)

SLIGO

Scorers: R. O’Kelly Lynch 1-10, 9f; G. O’Kelly Lynch 1-2; R. McHugh & P. Walsh 0-2 each; P. O’Brien, D. Keaveny, D. Hanley & E. O’Donoghue 0-1 each

Team: A. Rolston, N. Feehily, J. Weir, D. Keaveny, M. Harkin, R. McHugh, D. Hanley, P. O’Brien, R. Molloy, D. Rolston, R. O’Kelly Lynch, T. Cawley, D. O’Brien, G. O’Kelly Lynch, F. Connolly. Subs: E. O’Donoghue for D. O’Brien (52); P. Walsh for Connolly (63); C. Vereker & T. Davis for D. Ralston & Hanley (69); C. Lang for Harkin (71)

Referee: Ciaran O’Donovan