Connacht SFC QF New York v Sligo 6.5.12 Páirc na Gael the Bronx

[ross4life]

The first game of the 2012 football championship. Sligo off the back three league wins in a row are in decent form before flying out but the favourite tag rarely sits well with them. For those that fancy a flutter New York 9/1 draw 20/1 Sligo 1/33

Yeats County take on Big Apple in Championship Opener
The All Ireland Senior Football Championship begins less than ten days from now with the contest between Sligo and New York in the opening round of the Connacht Championship. This year will mark New York's 13th year in the Senior Football Championship and hopes are high in the Big Apple that this year could be the year the Exiles claim their first ever Championship win.

Sligo will be this years opponents and will make the long journey to Gaelic Park in the Bronx next Sunday to take on the Exiles in what promises to be a packed stadium for the occasion. Sligo last travelled to New York in 2007 where they recorded a facile win over the Exiles, however they also hold the unwanted record of being the only team to lose an FBD Final stateside when they were defeated by the New Yorkers in 2004. The Yeatsmen will look to their twin attacking threats of Adrian Marren and Mark Breheny to provide the scores and have looked impressive throughout the league campaign recording wins over Roscommon, Offaly, Tipperary and Wexford. The return of Eamon O'Hara from injury promises to boost Sligo's chances in this encounter.

New York will have it all to do if they are to record a famous win in Gaelic Park. The team is captained by Tyrone native, Errigal Ciaran's own Ronan McGinley and contains a mixture of seasoned campaigners in the New York colours, new additions to the squad and a host of Irish American players looking to represent their native county. Under the tutelage of Connie Molloy and Mickey Coleman (a former All Ireland Winner himself with Tyrone) the team have worked hard throughout the winter months and will be sure to rattle the 2007 Connacht Champions.

http://www.newyork.gaa.ie/club-news-1/yeatscountytakeonbigappleinchampionshipopener

[Mano]

You just don't know with Sligo

Raise their game for the likes of Galway and Mayo. Then perform woefully against Leitrim and lose at home.
Would expect Sligo to win comfortably but wouldn't be surprised if they got beat.

[ross4life]

Anyone here heading out? We have a few New York posters here that might go to it. Their last few games suggest they can score but are awful at the back.

FBD final October 2011 - New York  2-8  Mayo 7-12
CSFC May 2011 - New York 1-11 Roscommon 3-21
Last meeting May 2007 - New York 1-3 Sligo 2-18

[Carmen Stateside]

Don't worry Sligo won't be beat!

[sligoman2]

I will be there.

I expect an easy win for sligo

[Syferus]

I will be there.

I expect an easy win for sligo

Where have we heard that line before? 

[sligoman2]

I can assure you that you havent heard that from me before.  I was thinking how wierd it felt to be writing about my expectations of an easy win for sligo.

I dont think NY has alot of talent but i could be wrong.

Sligo to win easily

[magpie seanie]

First trip over to NY with Sligo that I'm missing. Am gutted cos its a brilliant trip but a family wedding put the kibosh on my plans.

The word I'm hearing is that Sligo are preparing well and not taking this lightly. We've improved a bit towards the end of the league so with all that in mind we should be ok.

Just thinking of 5 years ago and the start of the run to the Connacht title - where does the time go....?

[ross4life]

Yes 5 years have flown by. I was at my friends wedding the night before the Connacht final in 2007 didn't go to bed went straight to Hyde park to see our minors take on & lose to Galway. The senior game was far from a classic, O'Hara's goal the highlight but as neutral it was great to be there on the field among the Sligo fans as they celebrated their first Connacht senior success since 1975. No doubt if Sligo defeat ourselves or Galway in the semi final they will choose Hyde park for the final again.

[emmetryan]

Any chance RTE stream this online?

[Syferus]

Any chance RTE stream this online?

Haha. Good one!

[Farrandeelin]

Sligo will win handy. There seems to be a 'we will be lucky to get out of NY' attitude to the people I've spoken to in Sligo about this one.

[Syferus]

Sligo will win handy. There seems to be a 'we will be lucky to get out of NY' attitude to the people I've spoken to in Sligo about this one.

Totally depends on NY. They're always an unknown quantity, they can throw out the sort of performance that almost unseated Galway in 2010 or the one that got them crushed by Roscommon playing in second gear in 2011.

After seeing the documentary on New York and the lads involved and what it means to retain something so intrinsically Irish in their lives it's hard not to root for them. They're people not playing for the glory of being inter-county footballers, but because the sport and its community are what means they remain Irish thousands of miles from this island. There's a purity in that and no matter how many heavy losses they ship I could never back taking the opportunity to play in the championship from, if any people should grasp what a diaspora means it's us. Sometimes we need to look at the game as than jerseys on a field and see who the people in those jerseys are.

[SLIGONIAN]

I just seen the Sligo team and this sums up how i feel, the only way we'll win is if NY are dire..

[ross4life]

Is this the team you saw SLIGONIAN?

1 Philip Greene St.John’s

2 Neil Ewing Drumcliffe/Rosses Point

3 Noel Mc Guire Easkey

4 Ross Donavan Eastern Harps (Capt.)

5 Charles Harrison St.John’s

6 Mark  Quinn St.Molaise Gaels

7 Paul Mc Govern Eastern Harps

8 Tony Taylor Eastern Harps

9 Shane Mc Manus Geevagh

10 Brendan Egan Tourlestrane

11 Pat.Hughes Geevagh

12 Alan Costello Coolera/Strandhill

13 Stephen Coen St.Mary’s

14 Adrian Marren Curry

15 Mark Breheny St.Mary’s

Mostly the guys used during the league with a few U21s given a chance, David Kelly should be fit for semi final.