All-Ireland U20 B Final: Sligo defeat Down

Dalata Hotel Group All-Ireland U20 B Football Final

Sligo 1-16 Down 0-8

By Kevin Egan at Glenisk O'Connor Park

Sligo survived in the first half and then thrived in the second at Tullamore to capture the All-Ireland U-20 ‘B’ championship title at Down’s expense, holding the Mourne County to just two points in a surprisingly one-sided second half.

Both sides had shown some excellent form in this competition, but recent injuries to star attackers Aaron Lang and Eli Rooney seemed to hand the favourites’ mantle to Down in advance of this game.

The Mourne men did look that bit sharper in the first half with Ruairí Madine, Daniel McKernan and Conor Rocks kicking some fine points in the opening half, but a defensive error opened the door for Adam Feeney to nick a goal and keep them level at the turnaround.

An injury to corner back Bobby Magowan didn’t help the Down cause as the Drumgath player was very influential in his short time on the pitch, most notably when he stripped Feeney of the ball just as the goal was opening up for the Sligo attacker.

Lorcan Lynch also made a goal-saving tackle while Sligo’s shooting was not where they would have wanted, with five shots put astray.

Once the sides turned around, it all fell into place for the Yeats men.

Without Rooney and Lang to lead the way from the front, they still offered plenty of movement and energy close to goal, but they key to unlocking the Down defence was the speed and incisiveness with which Sligo poured through the middle and quickly piled on the points.

Eamon O’Mahony and team captain Conor Walsh were dominant at midfield with Walsh picking up the Man of the Match award on the back of three excellent points on the back of driving runs, while three points in five minutes from Conor Langan was crucial to further distance being put between the sides.

Down started chasing goals early, but a couple of speculative efforts were easily gathered by Gareth Cummins, and by the time Oisín Murphy hit what was just their second point of the half, Sligo were nine clear with less than 10 minutes to play, and they went on to finish with a flourish, tacking on late scores from Cian Nicholson and Oisín Devlin.

Scorers for Sligo: Adam Feeney 1-1, Conor Langan 0-3, Conor Walsh 0-3, Eamon O’Mahony 0-3 (2fs), Cian Nicholson 0-2, Eamon Keane 0-1, Matthew Walsh 0-1, Cathal Gilligan 0-1, Oisín Devlin 0-1.

Scorers for Down: Ruairí Madine 0-2, Conor Ward 0-2, Daniel McKernan 0-1, Liam Blaney 0-1, Conor Rocks 0-1, Oisín Murphy 0-1

Sligo: Gareth Cummins; Josh McHugh, Alex Lillie, James Donoghue; Eamon Keane, James Lavin, Oran Harte; Conor Walsh, Eamon O’Mahony; Cathal Gilligan, Cian Nicholson, Jim Molloy; Conor Langan, Matthew Walsh, Adam Feeney.

Subs: Michael Carroll for Molloy (44), Paul Flynn for M Walsh (49), Oisín Devlin for Feeney (57), Cian Carty for Langan (59), Liam Higgins for Keane (60+2).

Down: Callum Travers; Bobby Magowan, Luke Quinn, Taidgh O’Hanlon; Oisín Murphy, Conor Rocks, Lorcan Lynch; Danny Doyle, James McEvoy; Dalach McGreevy, Martin Óg Flanagan, Liam Blaney; Conor Ward, Daniel McKernan, Ruairí Madine.

Subs: Corey Clerkin for Magowan (22), Joe O’Hagan for Rocks (33), Eoghan Travers for McEvoy (49), Danny McLogan for Ward (54), Matthew McArdle for O’Hagan (55), Keelan Toner for Flanagan (59).

Referee: Diarmuid Boylan (Monaghan).