Sligo 1-12 Antrim 0-13:Sligo struggled to hold off 13- man Antrim in the second half of this clash at Markievicz park yesterday but still came away with a morale-boosting two-point win.

Five unanswered points by the rejuvenated Glensmen in the opening 10 minutes of the second half reduced the deficit to a couple of points as the visitors battled to overturn Sligo’s 1-8 to 0-4 half-time lead.

Paddy Cunningham who was sprung from the bench at half time for his first league outing following injury made an immediate impact with two of Antrim’s points.

Antrim were unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty after 57 minutes when Sligo goalkeeper Philip Greene impeded Cunningham as he closed in on goal. Cunningham converted the resultant free to leave a point between the teams.

Antrim were left with a mountain to climb after 25 minutes of the first half when Pat Hughes rattled the visitors’ net. Antrim were reduced to 14 players after 13 minutes of the second half when left corner forward Michael Niblock was sent off for a second bookable offence.