Sligo U14s travelled to Longford on Friday night to face a Longford side that were expected to provide a stern challenge to this talented Sligo side. Sligo sparkled under the Longford lights and ran out convincing winners by 36-7. James O’Hehir was the brightest star on the evening, running in two tries. Matt Davey also got his name on the score sheet as did Darragh Burke, who provided the try of the game with a break from deep in his half, before beating three players to touch down.The Sligo pack were on top throughout, tackling hard, and using their physicality at the breakdown to their advantage. In the forwards 2nd rower Niall O’Rourke was excellent throughout and is making a major impact in his first season in a Sligo jersey. Andrew Nairn returned from injury making some huge hits, and consistently putting his opposite number under pressure. The half-back partnership of Eddie Weaver and Conor Kerins continue to improve and their distribution was excellent. Sligo welcomed back star centre Peter Murray, and he provided the creative spark that inspired the backline with fellow centre Patrick McGloin, and the back-three of Tadgh Cadden, Darragh Burke, and Sean Finnegan all prominent. Finnegan’s positioning was superb throughout, and his counter-attacking running will provide a potent weapon for Sligo this season. Next week Sligo face a useful Westport side, which will be a true test of Sligo’s hopes this season.
Sligo: S Finnegan, T Cadden, P McGloin, P Murray, D Burke, C Kerins, E Weaver, J O’Hehir, L Dunne, A Nairn, N O’Rourke, J McGovern, M Davey, A Donnelan, F Zawada.
Other Sligo sides in action this week were the U13s who ran out convincing winners against Castlebar by 45-12 in Strandhill. This is a team that continues to go from strength to strength and will surely be in the shake-up for provincial honours later in the year. The U18s were to face Ballinasloe but the bad weather forced the cancellation of this game, and leave the side out of action for the weekend.