Connacht SFC Quarter-Final

SLIGO 2-20 LONDON 0-12

By Conor Martin at McGovern Park

A solid display from Sligo helped them book a spot in the semi-final of the Conancht Championship as they comfortably beat London 2-20 to 0-12 at McGovern Park.

Sligo hit the front foot in west London and never looked back. Paul McNamara and Patrick O’Connor got Sligo off the mark and as the teams settled the hosts opened up their account on the scoreboard.

The men from the English capital had some early chances in front of goals and they should have turned those chances into points. Enda Lynn had a golden chance but was denied by Daniel Lyons in the Sligo net.

At the other end Sligo were clincial and were adding to their tally in relentless fashion. Cian Lally and Pat Spillane grabbed a couple before Niall Murphy and Paul Kilcoyne pushed Sligo further ahead.

London were misisng that little bit extra in the final third and the lack of ruthlessness cost them in the end.

However Aidan McLoughlin, who was one of london’s standout players, was doing everything he could to get his side back into the match and got his first score shortly before half-time.

The game looked over as a contest by the break as Sligo continued to increase their lead.

Things didn’t get any better for London in the second-half as Sligo ruthlessly killed the game off.

Two well worked goals from Sean Carrabine and Spillane put the result beyond any doubt. Further points from Chris Duggan, Farley, McLoughlin and London captain Liam Gavaghan were in vain as London were left to ponder what could have been as Sligo progressed to the semi-finals.

Scorers for London: Christopher Farley (0-6, 6f), Aidan McLoughlin (0-2), Enda Lynn (0-1), Christopher Duggan (0-1), Liam Gavaghan (0-1), Conal Gallagher (0-1)

Scorers for Sligo: Pat Spillane (1-4), Sean Carrabine (1-1,1f), Niall Murphy 0-3, 1f), Patrick O'Connor (0-3, 1m), Cian Lally (0-3), Paul Kilcoyne (0-1), Paul McNamara (0-1), Luke Towey (0-1), Nathan Mullen (0-1), Donal Conlon (0-1), Alan Reilly (0-1,1f)

London: Noel Maher; Eoin Flanagan, Michael Clarke, Nathan McElwaine, Eoin Walsh, Conal Gallagher, Aidan McLoughlin, Daniel Clarke, Liam Gavaghan (Captain), Christopher Duggan, Enda Lynn, Stephen Dornan, Christopher Farley, James Gallagher, Liam Gallagher. Substitutes: Ronan Sloan for Nathan McElwaiine (35’), Ruadhan McCarthy for Stephen Dornan, Josh Obahor for Daniel Clarke (46’), Niall O’Leary for Eoin Flanagan (57’), Ryan Tohill for Christopher Farley (65’)

Sligo: Daniel Lyons; Nathan Mullen, Eddie McGuinness, Evan Lyons, Luke Towey, Brian Cox, Paul McNamara, Paul Kilcoyne, Cian Lally, Keelan Cawley, Sean Carrabine, Finnian Cawley, Pat Spillane, Patrick O’Connor, Niall Murphy (Captain). Substitutes: Alan Reilly for Niall Murphy (47’), Mikey Gordon for Finnian Cawley (51’), Donal Conlon for Patrick O’Connor (56’), Gerard O’kelly-Lynch for Keelan Cawley (63’), David Phillips for Evan Lyons (65’)

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)