ESB Connacht MFC

By Darragh Cox
sport@sligopost.com

A home semi-final will be the target for Sligo when they face Galway in the ESB Connacht Minor Football Championship at Markievicz Park on Saturday (throw-in 7pm).
Michael Moyles’s side have already had two outings in the championship this year – losing to Roscommon before defeating Leitrim in Tubbercurry last week. That win was enough to see them into the second stage of this year’s restructured provincial championship, joining Roscommon, Mayo and champions Galway.
The new system means that Sligo will advance to a semi-final regardless of this weekend’s result, but a win against Galway would ensure a home tie against the loser of the Roscommon-Mayo tie.
Defeat for Sligo will see them travelling to the winner of the Roscommon-Mayo tie.
Sligo were knocked out of last year’s championship at the semi-final stage by the Tribesmen, who went on to win the All-Ireland title, defeating Derry in the final.
Sligo have been plagued by injuries this year, with Niall Judge and Conor Griffin among the long-term absentees.
Moyles will be hopeful that Brian Harris, Enda Kivlehan and Jason Matthews might come back into contention for Saturday’s game, after picking up knocks recently.
Speaking after the Roscommon match, the former IT Sligo player said that the six-week break between the Galway game and the semi-final, which is due to take place on the weekend of June 28, will at least afford him the chance to get some more players back to full fitness.
“We have eight players injured but we have six weeks now so hopefully we can get some of these players back.”
Moyles has called a number of players into his squad to cope with the lengthy injury list, and he says that the squad’s strength-in-depth is pleasing.
“We had 24 players on the panel and we now have 31, because we have lads injured that can’t even train, never mind play. It is important to have a strong panel.”
Meanwhile, the Sligo Coaching Committee has confirmed that it will be bringing an U15 football development squad to London to take part in a training camp and a football blitz on the weekend of Sligo’s opening defence of the Nestor Cup.
During the trip, the squad will take in Sligo’s Connacht Championship opener against London, which takes place in Ruislip on Sunday, May 26.
The Sligo U16 squad will take part in a blitz in Roscommon on Friday, May 24.
Elsewhere, primary school blitzes, organised by the IT Sligo students that have been coaching throughout the Sligo schools for the past few weeks, will take place at venues throughout the county next week.
The hugely successful IT Sligo programme, which featured 18 coaches from the Ballinode college, including two hurling coaches, is drawing to an end next week.

For more information on coaching in Sligo, visit www.sligogaa.ie or contact Sligo games manager Liam Og Gormley on 0868254420.