Sigerson Cup Final Sligo IT 1-10 Queens University 1-7 By now some of the Sligo IT players may be harbouring slight regrets about their Sigerson Cup experience, given the spirited celebrations customary for winning the competition.
But there can be no regrets about their display on the playing field of Belfast's Corrigan Park on Saturday afternoon, as they truly outclassed Queen's University to claim the third-level colleges' title for only the second time.
When first winning two years ago Sligo had arrived as outsiders, and departed with a serious reputation. This time there was a lot more expectation but with all but three of their starting line-up now established intercounty footballers, only a major collapse could have spoiled their day.
Manager Michael Breslin has also developed an attractive style of football, with mobility and pace the central components. But there is real spirit in the team too, which team captain Michael Moyles emphasised after he'd collected the trophy from GAA president Seán Kelly.
"This is a 30-man effort," said the Mayo native, "and there is an incredible team spirit there. Every time we go out on the pitch we go out to play together. Still we never once expected to win this. We'd gone out taking each game as it came."
After an edgy opening 25 minutes Sligo simply took off like a jet plane, with a spread of football ability that Queen's could only observe with envy. Donegal's Kevin Cassidy was flawless at wing back, a constant menace to the Queen's forwards. Shortly before half-time he contributed a powerful point that even then secured his man-of-the-match reward.
At midfield Sligo had a tireless pairing in Moyles and Cassidy's Donegal team-mate Brendan Boyle. And the Donegal influence spread into the forward line, where Christy Toye proved indomitable, particularly in the second half. Galway's Nicholas Joyce will probably enjoy better days at full forward but Paul Finlay's accuracy balanced any shortcomings, with the Monaghan forward ending with 0-5.
With David Ward collecting the defining goal shortly after half-time, and Austin O'Malley earlier getting his name on the score-sheet, Sligo's range of creativity was far beyond what Queen's could produce on the day. Yet it was clear the hard-earned win over UCD in Friday's semi-final had taken a lot of the spark from their game.
Like Sligo, they were also a little slow to settle, with the first 20 minutes surprisingly patternless, and although the free-taking of Down's Aidan Fagan gave them an early advantage, it was patently clear Queen's had a struggle on their hands. Sligo were wasting a bucketful of chances but were only warming up. A few minutes before half-time they suddenly hit full stride.
With the scores tied at 0-3 apiece, first came Cassidy's thundering score, quickly joined by a sweet combination from Joyce to Moyles and then the bursting 60-metre run and score of Paul Harte.
Fagan's third free within minutes of the restart gave Queen's a brief respite, only for Sligo to respond immediately with the killer scores. Joyce's long-range free set up Ward for the goal, and Finlay's first from play, following a magnificent run by Toye, had Sligo thinking only of success.
With only minutes remaining Sligo had pulled 1-10 to 0-6 clear. There was a late burst of excitement when Mayo's Billy Joe Padden collected a loose ball and cut through two Sligo defenders to deliver a sweet goal which would ultimately prove a consolation. Dick Clerkin added a fine point to raise the temperature even higher but the Sligo nerves were never truly tested, and the held on without any panic.
SLIGO IT: P Durkan; N McGee, E McGee, A Higgins; P Kelly, S Grimes, K Cassidy (0-1); B Boyle, M Moyles (0-1); P Harte (0-1), P Finlay (0-5, two frees, one 45), C Toye; D Ward (1-0), N Joyce (0-1, free), A O'Malley (0-1). Subs: A Costello for Boyle (23 mins).
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY: W McSorley; N Bogue, D McCartan, P O'Hea; C Rafferty, E Devine, S Kelly; M McGrath, D Clerkin (0-1); A Carr, J Clarke, K Oaks (0-1); E McCartan, BJ Padden (1-0), A Fagan (0-5, all frees). Subs: G Donaghy for Oaks (35 mins), C Dunne for Carr (46 mins), C Brady for Bogue (52 mins).
Referee: B White (Wexford)
