New York 0-15 Sligo 1-16: Yeats County survive a scare in the Big Apple
Sligo kick four late points to escape Gaelic Park in the Bronx with a Connacht Championship victory over New York; Exiles were aiming for a first ever win in the competition, but the Yeats County pull clear late on to progress
Last Updated: 18/04/22 9:18am
Sligo are through to a Connacht SFC semi-final meeting with Roscommon, after surviving a scare in New York, prevailing 1-16 to 0-15.
New York were seeking a first win in the Connacht Championship in their 22nd attempt, and came close after levelling the contest in the 67th minute.
However, Tony McEntee's charges reeled off four late points to pick up the county's first championship win since 2018.
Despite not playing a competitive fixture since their defeat to Mayo in 2019, New York started brightly.
Underneath the high-rise surrounds of the Bronx, the Exiles were sharp right from the off.
Former Galway hurler Johnny Glynn was an effective target man in the middle of the field, rising high to fetch kick-outs. And the 2017 Liam MacCarthy Cup winner was central to their attacks, as they worked their way into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead.
Ex-Tribe footballer Adrian Varley led the scoring, for the home side, while former Cork hurler Mark Ellis was also lively.
However, the Yeats County eventually settled, with a Seán Carrabine goal helping to turn the tide. But it failed to unnerve the hosts, as Sligo took a slender 1-8 to 0-10 lead into half-time.
Carrabine and Niall Madine traded scores after the restart, before Keelan Cawley and Niall Murphy gave the visitors a three-point lead with 15 minutes to play.
With scores hard to come by, it looked a significant advantage. But New York came once more. Varley stood up with a quickfire brace of points.
Madine then kicked a leveller on the 62-minute mark, and the capacity crowd felt something special was brewing.
The teams traded points once more, with a Madine free in the 67th minute making it 0-15 to 1-12.
But in the championship minutes, it was the visitors who found the answers. Two Niall Murphy scores, and points from Aidan Devaney and Paddy O'Connor helped them over the line.
A Connacht semi-final date with Division 2 champions Roscommon is in store for Sligo.
For New York, it is not the end of the line. They will travel to Ireland later this year, entering the Tailteann Cup at the quarter-final stage.
