Sligo beat Antrim in Division 3 Final

Allianz GAA Football National League Division 3 Final:
Sligo 0-19  Antrim 1-11

Sligo delivered a sublime attacking display to beat Antrim by 0-19 to 1-11 in an absorbing Allianz GAA Football National League Division 3 final at Croke Park on Saturday evening.

Kevin Walsh’s side served warning of the threat they will pose later in the summer with a performance to delight football purists and aesthetes all over the country.

Sligo had heroes all over the pitch, but Colm McGee (0-5) and midfielder Stephen Gilmartin (0-3) gave the stand-out performances in a thrilling game at Headquarters.

Sligo led by 0-9 to 0-5 at half-time and moved further ahead in the third quarter, but a Michael McCann goal for Antrim in the 59th minute set up a grandstand finish.

However, Sligo finished with a flourish with substitute Stephen Cohen scoring three late points as the Connacht side celebrated their second successive promotion with the added bonus of an Allianz GAA Football National League Division 3 title.

Mark Breheny, the Sligo danger man, opened the scoring before the Yeats men doubled their advantage after dominating the early stages.

It took Antrim ten minutes to get off the mark, and inevitably it was Paddy Cunningham who found the target. In fact, the Lámh Dearg man kicked three successive scores as the Ulster side too a 0-3 to 0-2 lead in the 16th minute.

The second score of that trio was a real beauty and served as a warning, if Sligo really needed it, of Cunningham’s immense talents.

Antrim’s plans were upset when midfielder Brendan Herron was forced off with a foot injury after 11 minutes, although his replacement, Aodhán Gallagher, was a more than able man to have on standby having won an AIB Club All-Ireland medal five weeks previously at the same venue with St Gall’s.

However, Antrim struggled in the midfield battle in the first half especially, with Tony Taylor and Gilmartin dominating the skies and winning plenty of possession from kick-outs.

Sligo looked sharp in attack and they had more than one man capable of doing damage up front. McGee twice beat Colin Brady to the ball and fired over a couple of impressive scores. Gilmartin chipped in with the first of his two points in the half as the Yeats men moved into a 0-5 to 0-3 lead.

Gallagher, the substitute midfielder, was only the second Antrim man to get his name on the scoresheet before Cunningham knocked over another free to level the game once again.

However, Sligo seemed to find another gear with ease and they kicked four points in a row to take control of the game going into the break. David Kelly created an opportunity for himself with a clever run and finished neatly, while Gilmartin added his second with the Antrim defence AWOL. McGee, a constant threat at corner forward, kicked his third point of the half.

Alan Costello’s score on the stroke of half-time gave Sligo a 0-9 to 0-5 lead at the break. That score illustrated the problems Antrim needed to sort out at the break, after the Sligo wing-forward soloed unchecked from the halfway line to pop the ball over the bar.

Antrim needed a bright start, but Liam Bradley’s side were further in arrears when McGee tapped over an early free.

But things looked decidedly less gloomy when Antrim’s attack finally started to click in the third quarter. Cunningham sent over his fifth point of the evening before Tomás McCann and CJ McGourty finally got off the mark.

The gap was down to two points, 0-10 to 0-8, prompting Sligo boss Kevin Walsh to call the messianic Eamon O’Hara off the bench.

Gerard O’Boyle reduced the gap to the minimum with a fine point after his introduction as a substitute, before Sligo hit another purple patch to wrestle back control of the game. Costello settled the Yeats men with a free, while Kelly gave his marker, Brady, the run around once again before Gilmartin kicked his third point from play to leave four points between the sides.

Sligo moved five points clear and appeared to be coasting to victory when the Glensmen hit back with the only goal of the game in the 59th minute. It was a trademark move, the ball moving through three sets of hands before midfielder Michael McCann slammed a low shot under the Sligo goalkeeper. The Ulster side trailed by 0-14 to 1-9 with ten minutes left.

But Sligo’s remarkable ability to find scores just when they needed them was in evidence again when substitute Cohen struck for the first of two delightful points and Breheny added another. In three minutes, Sligo had negated Antrim’s goal.

In a breathless final ten minutes, Ciaran Close responded with a point, but the Antrim substitute might have reaped a greater reward had he looked outside him and passed to an unmarked team mate. Cunningham reduced the gap to three with yet another free with two minutes left on the clock.

Crucially, McGee kicked the next score – his fifth of the evening – to leave four points between the sides, while Cohen added his third after coming on as a sub to round off a fine win.

Antrim: J Finucane, C Brady, A McLean, K O’Boyle, T Scullion,. J Crozier, S Kelly, M McCann (1-0), B Herron, T O’Neill, CJ McGourty (0-1), J Loughry, P Cunningham (0-6, 0-3f), M McGill, T McCann (0-1).

Subs: A Gallagher (0-1) for Herron, G O’Boyle (0-1) for McGill, C Close (0-1) for O’Neill, P Doherty for Kelly, A Douglas for McLean

Sligo: P Greene, C Harrison, N McGuire, R Donavan, K Cawley, M Quinn, J Davey, T Taylor, S Gilmartin (0-3), A Costello (0-1), M Breheny (0-4, 0-1f), F Quinn, C McGee (0-5, 0-1f), K Sweeney (0-1), D Kelly (0-2).

Subs: E O’Hara for Quinn, S Coen (0-3) for Sweeney