Sigerson Cup Rd 1 Result:
Queen’s University, Belfast 0-8 IT Sligo 1-9 AET.
IT Sligo’s senior gaelic footballers booked their place in the next round of the Higher Education Sigerson Cup on Wednesday night thanks to a courageous four point over Queen’s at the Dub playing fields in Belfast.
In the end, it took extra time to separate the teams. On a snow-covered pitch, both sides performed commendably in icy conditions to serve up an entertaining 80 minutes of football.
IT Sligo got off to the perfect start when Evan Regan found the net in the second minute. They led by 1-2 to 0-4 at half-time. Queen’s took the initiative for a spell in the second thirty minutes with Armagh’s Ciaran O’Hanlon kicking five of his team’s points.
But the Sligo students responded well in the closing quarter. Cathal Mulryan’s fine long range point from play was the catalyst for a strong last fifteen minutes. Martin McHugh’s side enjoyed plenty of possession but couldn’t translate it into scores.
It finished 0-8 to 1-5 after sixty minutes. Queen’s had a golden opportuniy to take control in the first period of extra-time when they were awarded a penalty. However, Ryan Murray’s kick came back off the upright. Watch the penalty incident here courtesy of Jerome Quinn media.
That let-off seemed to inspire IT Sligo. Points from Daniel McKenna and Evan Ryan (who scored 1-4 on the night) were key as the visitors pulled clear in the second period to win by four points.
To give you an idea of what conditons were like, watch this short video by Jerome Quinn media.
Watch the postmatch interview with Mark McHugh.
Next up for IT Sligo is a trip to Cork on February 11th and a round two clash with Sigerson hosts UCC.