Louth hurlers battle hard but fall short against Sligo

Louth’s return to championship hurling following their unbeaten Division Four league success ended in disappointment as they came out second best to a clinical Sligo side in their Nickey Rackard Cup opener this afternoon.

Played in pleasant conditions at Markievicz Park, Trevor Hilliard’s men showed flashes of quality, especially in the second half, but a sluggish opening period proved costly.

Sligo hit the ground running and raced into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead inside the opening two minutes.

READ MORE: Dundalk FC defeat Cobh to preserve their lead at the top of the league.

The Wee County responded well through scores from Peter Fortune and Paddy Lynch before Darren Geoghegan levelled matters by the fourth minute. But after that bright spell, Sligo took control.

The Yeats County outscored Louth ten to two from that point to the break, with Andrew Kilcullen punishing every opportunity from placed balls, and Paul O’Brien and Thomas Cawley picking off tidy scores from play.

Sligo led 0-13 to 0-5 at half time and looked well in command. Louth’s struggles in front of goal didn’t help their cause, with a series of wides disrupting any attacking momentum.

Despite goalkeeper Conor Clancy pulling off a pair of top-drawer saves, the Wee County were eight points down at the break and chasing the game.

To their credit, Louth came out fighting in the second half as the move of Leon Fox to the forward line sparked a revival.

Fox fired over three points in a row to reduce the gap to seven, and with Geoghegan accurate from placed balls, the visitors slowly chipped away at the deficit.

By the 63rd minute, Louth had narrowed the gap to five and seemed to have real momentum. Conor Murphy added a well-taken point from play, and captain Clancy again stood tall in goal to deny a certain goal from Paul O’Leary.

However, Sligo were able to keep the scoreboard ticking at key moments, with Kilcullen finishing with a personal haul of ten points. James Weir added the insurance score late on to seal the win for the home side.

The Reds will feel there were positives to take particularly their second-half fightback and the form of Geoghegan and Fox.

They will know they'll need a more complete performance to get points on the board in the next game at home against Fermanagh.

Louth’s next fixture in the Nickey Rackard Cup offers a chance to bounce back and based on their second-half performance they’ll feel they’re still firmly in the hunt.

Full time: Sligo 0-20 Louth 0-15

Sligo: Luke Comerford; Darragh Crawley, Kevin O’Kennedy, Eoghan Rua McGowan; James Weir (0-1), Eoin Comerford, Fionn Connolly; Darragh Flynn, Paul O’Brien (0-3); Paul O’Leary, Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch, Eddie O’Donoghue; Andrew Kilcullen (0-10), Conor Griffen, Thomas Cawley (0-3).

Subs: Tony O’Kelly-Lynch (0-1) on for Conor Griffen (56’), Hugh Rooney on for Eddie O’Donoghue (56’), Ronan Molloy on for Darragh Flynn (69’).

Louth: Conor Clancy; John Casey, Conor Quigley, Stephen Kettle; Mark Gahan, Leon Fox (0-4), Aaron McGuinness; Ben Goss-Kieran, Sean Hodgins; Conor Murphy (0-1), Paddy Lynch (0-1), Peter Fortune (0-1); Darren Geoghegan (0-8, 7f), Sean Flynn, Seaghan Conneely.

Subs: Thomas McCreesh on for Conor Quigley (HT), David Stephenson on for Seaghan Conneely (55’), Brian Corcoran on for Mark Gahan (71’).

Referee: Aidan McAleer (Donegal).