Armagh 2-9 Sligo 0-15
Sligo endured another epic Croke Park adventure by battling back from a half-time deficit to pin Ulster champions Armagh to a draw in the first of four Bank Holiday weekend quarter-finals at headquarters.
After their remarkable but gruelling turnaround of Tyrone two weeks ago, many observers fancied Sligo to wilt under the Armagh pressure. But despite a dreary opening 35 minutes, the Connacht men dug deep and summoned a second half performance of considerable worth, limiting their opponents to only five scores.
Armagh’s defensive strategy kept Sligo at distance in the early stages, but Peter Ford’s side were nevertheless picking up enough scraps to stay in touch.
Armagh enjoyed a three point lead after 10 minutes and gave the impression they would easily take account of their opponents. Steven McDonnell’s goal in the 20th minute put Armagh on the right track while Diarmuid Marsden should have killed off the contest a minute later but his effort shaved the post.
That spell of prolonged attack spurred Sligo on to better things. Corner forward Dessie Sloyan smacked over two fine scores and his attacking colleague Gerry McGowan was on target with a free.
Sligo trailed Armagh by two points and McGowan was gifted a true chance to reduce that lead when Armagh centre-back Kieran McGeeney fouled the ball in front of the posts. But McGowan screwed his attempt wide and Armagh took to the break two points up on a scoreline of 1-5 to 0-6.
Marsden made amends for his first half miss just minutes into the second period. The corner forward was put through on goal and beat James Curran with a rasping effort to the bottom corner. The Ulster champions were now six points ahead but Sligo had plenty left in the tank and soon took control.
Sloyan proved an accurate outlet for Sligo and he rattled over two more scores midway through the half. Sligo were reduced to 14 men when half-back David Durkin was red carded for an off the ball incident but the blow gave the Westeners a lift.
Sloyan added another brace to reduce Armagh’s lead to two points. Sligo upped the tempo approaching full time and leveled proceedings with two smart scores from Brendan Phillips and Dara McGarty. Armagh, who by that stage had not scored for 20 minutes, had an opportunity to clinch victory but John McEntee’s booming effort drifted high and wide.