Sligo survived a second-half scare against New York to win their Connacht Championship Preliminary Round on Sunday night in the Bronx.
A 1-21 to 1-13 win in favour of Niall Carew's side did not tell the whole story of the game. Despite leading at half-time by two points, Sligo trailed as the game entered its final 20 minutes.
New York have yet to win a game in the Connacht Championship, and with a squad that included the likes of Mayo defender Tom Cunniffe and Dublin's hurling All-Star Danny Sutcliffe, a historic home win was widely speculated before the game.
.@sligogaa beat @NewYorkGAA 1-21 to 1-13 in New York to face Mayo in the @ConnachtGAA Senior Football Championship! @LiveGAAResults pic.twitter.com/NZPMuBR9k3
— Inpho Photography (@Inphosports) May 7, 2017
The two sides shared goals early in the second-half. Armagh native Eugene McVerry scored the game's opening goal, to level the tie in a packed Gaelic Park. Sligo's goal came courtesy of Kyle Cawley, who slotted the ball past his fellow county-man Vinny Cadden in the final stages.
Despite only leading by three points going into the final ten minutes, it was Sligo's experience and match practice that proved decisive as the Division 3 side pulled away in Gaelic Park, with the likes of Cawley's goal, adding to points from the likes of goalkeeper Aidan Devaney and Adrian Marren.
Sligo now go on to meet last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists Mayo in the quarter-finals on May 21st in Castlebar. The last time the two teams met in the Championship saw Mayo win by 26 points in the 2015 Connacht Final.
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