Round-up: Friday's Electric Ireland Connacht MFC action
A general view of Markievicz Park. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Electric Ireland Connacht MFC
Galway 2-17 Leitrim 1-10
Mayo 1-12 Sligo 0-11
Galway looked after their own side of things against Leitrim and then benefited from a favour from Mayo tonight in the Electric Ireland Connacht MFC, ensuring that the Tribesmen sneaking into the knockout stages of the provincial championship and set up a semi-final clash with Roscommon next Friday evening.
Coming into tonight’s game in Ballinamore, Galway had just the one point from their three games so far, but they knew that if they ran up a decent score against Leitrim, they had every chance of pipping Sligo at the post.
They certainly settled straight into the contest as Killian Joyce split the posts with a towering left-footed kick in the second minute, and they were in the driving seat when Niall de Paor left Joyce with the simplest of finishes for a goal to make it 1-6 to a solitary Jack Kelly point after 18 minutes.
Kelly brought Leitrim back into the game with an exquisite lob over the Galway goalkeeper from 25 metres out five minutes later, but Galway shot the first three points of the second half to put distance between the sides, and they were effectively home and hosed when a powerful run from Charlie Killeen was crowned with a thunderous low finish.
Leitrim did score six of the next seven points, including three frees from Kelly and a fine score from Senan Bohan, but Galway were able to ease over the finish line and pick up a 2-17 to 1-10 win.
That left the equation very simple for Sligo at Markievicz Park – they needed to take at least a point from their game against a Mayo side that were already guaranteed their place in the Connacht final, in order to stay ahead of Galway.
Six minutes in, the Crossmolina connection in the Mayo attack combined to set up the opening goal, and a score that proved vital the whole way through as Mayo picked up a 1-12 to 0-11 victory.
Dylan Flynn set up the opportunity by blocking down a Sligo handpass, feeding to his club colleague Oisín Deane, and once Deane connected with Kobe McDonald, the third of four starters from the North Mayo club, he duly rifled in a low right-footed shot that left Sligo chasing the game.
Sligo goalkeeper Gareth Cummins was in exceptional form and he did all he could to keep his side in with a chance, pulled off some outstanding saves including a full length dive to deny Oisin Deane at the end of a slick team move, while Aaron Healy struck some excellent dead ball points off the ground, but Sligo struggled to make an impact from open play and a couple of big attacking plays from Mayo substitute Joe Forry saw them over the line.
Sligo will now meet Leitrim in the Electric Ireland Connacht Minor Shield Final, and Mayo will lie in wait for the winners of next weekend’s Roscommon versus Galway clash.
