The county suffered its second Championship loss of the weekend today when the Minors unexpectedly fell at the first hurdle in the Connacht MFC. In windy conditions at the Connacht Centre of Excellence this afternoon they lost out to Sligo by 1-9 to 1-7.
We had the benefit of the wind in the opening half and led most of the way to the break. Then Adam Gallagher grabbed a goal for the Magpies to send them in two points in front. It was a lead they held to the finish.
With the wind now at their backs, the Sligo lads pushed on in the second half. With time running out they led by five but then Sam Callinan broke through for a goal to cut the gap between the sides to two at the finish.
With Galway also suffering a surprise loss this weekend, going under to Roscommon, the Connacht MFC decider – to be played on the first weekend in January – sees Sligo take on Roscommon.
According to Seán McGoldrick, this will be the first time these two counties will have met in a Connacht Minor final since 1949. Roscommon won that one, but only after a replay. In a twist to that particular tale, though, Sligo lodged an objection which was successful and so saw the title awarded to them. It’s one of only two provincial titles the Yeats County have won, the other being in 1968.
For our lads, it’s the end of the road in this year’s Minor Championship. Commiserations to Tomás Morley and his young charges on today’s loss.
Sligo were deserved winners, were strong at under 16 last year.
Best team won on the day no complaints about that. I love to hear Garvan on Midwest a great man for the underage football. Good understanding of the grade and tells it as he sees it. Best of luck to the Sligo boys next year
Sligo were the better Team the only Mayo players to stand out Touhy and Ballina s Ciaran Boland played their hearts out
I know from living in Sligo that they had high hopes for this team, I hope they win it now to reward some of the good work ongoing with undetage. Their challenge is to hold onto them as they lose many players between now and senior, and I believe is reflected in their inability to win even one provincial U21/20 to date.
Well done Sligo. Brilliant team performance. Worked as a unit and believed in one another. Dont think underage players should be criticised. Mayo gave everything,especially in the 2and half. The ref pulled Mayo on a least ten times for over carring the ball. He was obsessed with the four steps Considering the conditions he should have allowed a bit of leeway.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=soTAQVPXcB8
Full game