Sligo have reached the semi final which will be against Warwickshire Sunday June 9th in their first year back in the competition whilst at the same time ending Mayo interest. Mayo were relegated into the competition for 2019 and were considered one of the favourites to go straight back up. In fairness in the last 10 minutes it looked like they would be continuing in the competition but our full back line and keeper pulled off a number of excellent hooks and blocks to keep us undefeated in the competition.
Gerard O'Kelly Lynch got Sligo off to a dream start by scoring 2 goals early on. The hard work ethic with super first touch meant we were dominant throughout the first half. The half back line of Banks, Cox and McHugh were the launch pad for many attacks and with Raymond, Starr and Cadden scoring from play we lead deservedly by 2-13 v 0-7, Conor Griffin scoring a great point on the whistle.
The second half saw Mayo increase their effort dramatically and their back line totally closed out any trouble. With Shane Boland scoring frees from all angles and Philips scoring nicely from play it did actually look like they would end up victorious. Three points is all we scored in the half but luckily they at each time came at vital times which meant Mayo never actually took the lead. An excellent goal by full forward Phillips brought it back to a one point game just going into injury time and they equalised a minute later. They had 2 more opportunities but sent one wide and the other was blocked by the full back line and Mark Burke cleared long with the ref then blowing the long whistle. The large crowd let an almighty roar as the tension was thick at this time.
A draw was a fair result with this very much a game of two halves. How either team was so dominant in either half was hard to fathom. Sligo move on but for Mayo the year is finished.
Team: Mark Burke, James Weir, Niall Feehily, Kevin O'Kennedy, Kevin Banks, Ronan Cox, Rory McHugh, Keith Raymond(0-6), Joe Starr(0-1), Kevin Gilmartin, Conor Griffin(0-1), Shane Crowley(0-1), Gary Cadden(0-2), Gerard O'Kelly Lynch(2-2), Brian Shannon(0-1). Subs used: Mikey Gordon, Niall McDermott, Kieran Prior, Andrew Kilcullen(0-1), Tony O'Kelly Lynch