Gutsy hurlers fall short against Sligo

TYRONE 1-16  SLIGO 0-20

TIME ultimately ran out on the Tyrone hurlers’ brave bid to gain at least a share of the spoils in this Christy Ring Cup clash at Crarickmore on Sunday, which saw them battle back from a hefty interval deficit before being denied right at the end.

Most of the drama in this entertaining clash was reserved for the closing minutes. A pointed free from Sean Duffin looked to have secured a draw for the Red Hands, but one more attack finally saw their Sligo opponents claim two vital points.

It was a bitterly disappointing finale for Tyrone.

The Connacht side arrived at Pairc Colmcille determined to make amends for their narrow defeat the previous week and wasted no time in establishing their control.

While Dermot Begley did manage to cancel out their opening point from Thomas Crawley, Sligo were soon on top. Further scores from Joe McHugh, Ronan Molloy, a brace courtesy of Andrew Kilcullen and then a Conor Hannify score left them enjoying a 0-9 to 0-3 advantage.

This was a worrying situation for Tyrone.

They were mostly second to the ball, and the forcefulness of Fionn Connolly and Diarmuid Hannify at midfield and Eddie O’Donoughue and Thomas Cawley up front made a crucial difference.

Tyrone tried hard, but just couldn’t handle Sligo for long periods of that first half. Dean Rafferty, Chris Kearns and Conall Devlin worked hard in the defence and Bryan McGurk, Lorcan Devlin and Conor Grogan tried to create openings further outfield. But it simply wasn’t working, as Sligo won most of the breaking balls.

Tyrone’s best chance came when Michael Little’s initial shot at goal rebounded to Aidan Kelly whose shot just went wide. They trailed by 0-10 to 0-3 when Thomas Cawley fired over approaching the break, and there was little indication of things really improving.

Nevertheless, Tyrone finished the half in a real flourish. Four points in quick succession saw them provide themselves with a platform to build upon on the resumption. Sean Duffin fired over two frees and a magnificent sideline cut, before Lorcan Devlin broke through to score. That left it 0-10 to 0-7 for Sligo at half-time and all to play for in the second half.

But it was Sligo who regained their control when the play started again. Just as in the opening stages of the tie, they began dominating. Tyrone simply couldn’t respond as the visitors stretched their lead once more. Eddie O’Donoghue, Conor Griffin, Andrew Kilcullen and Conor Hannify all registered points.

So, from being just three in arrears at half-time, Tyrone suddenly found themselves in trouble again. After only seven minutes of the second half, they were 0-14 to 0-7 behind, and required urgent action to have any chance of retrieving matters near the finish.

It was then, though, that Tyrone produced their best play. Chris Kearns, Dermot Begley and Conor Grogan began winning breaking ball in the key central areas. The tackling and hooking was vastly improved, and they began finding players in the scoring zone as well.

Aidan Kelly got them going with a hard-earned point, and then Conor Grogan picked off a brilliant score to leave five between the sides.

He was on hand to place Sean Duffin for another, as they cut the deficit to four, before Duffin fired over a brace of frees to leave only two between them entering the closing stages.

Now the excitement was really building, but Sligo remained ahead. Andrew Kilcullen and Eddie O’Donoghue recorded important scores for them, as their physical strength gave them an edge. But the stage was being set, and Tyrone found extra impetus when it mattered.

A goal from Chris Kearns right at the end of normal time brought the teams level.

He fired low and hard into the net to the delight of the large Red Hand support.

That goal left the score 1-14 to 0-17, and the tension was clear as the minutes in added time ebbed away.

Swapped points between Andrew Kilcullen for Sligo and Tyrone’s Lorcan Devlin maintained the status quo. Kilcullen was again on target, but Sean Duffin equalised again. There were now more than the alotted five minutes of added time played, and nobody would have complained if the final whistle had sounded.

But there were two more plays to come. First Kilcullen fired over from out on the ring to edge his team ahead. Tyrone attacked again, but the visiting defence held firm as they emerged with that one point win.

The Scorers

Tyrone

Sean Duffin 0-9 (7f, 0-1 sideline cut),  Chris Kearns 1-0, Lorcan Devlin 0-2, Conor Grogan 0-2, Dermot Begley 0-2 (2f), Aidan Kelly 0-1.

Sligo

Andrew Kilcullen 0-8 (5f, 1 ‘65, 1 sideline cut), Tomas Cawley 0-2, Joe McHugh 0-2, Conor Griffin 0-2, Ronan Molloy 0-1, Eoin Comerford 0-1