2005 Sligo Senior Football Championship

This is a round-up of the 2005 Sligo Senior Football Championship. The year saw Coolera, who had suffered two final defeats earlier in the decade, end their long wait for Championship glory, stretching back to 1907. They defeated Curry in the final, who had disposed of the holders Tourlestrane after a semi-final replay. No team was relegated in 2005, in order to bring the number of competing teams up to 16 in 2006.

Group stages

The Championship was contested by 15 teams, divided into three groups of four, and one of three. The top two sides in each group advanced to the quarter-finals.

Group A

Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score 24 July Ballymote   Bunninadden   1-14   St. Molaise Gaels   1-4 24 July Ballymote   Calry/St. Joseph's   1-15   Tubbercurry   0-8 6 August Ballymote   Tubbercurry   1-15   Bunninadden   0-12 6 August Markievicz Park   Calry/St. Joseph's   1-16   St. Molaise Gaels   0-7 13 August Kent Park   Tubbercurry   0-15   St. Molaise Gaels   0-4 14 August Markievicz Park   Bunninadden   1-9   Calry/St. Joseph's   0-6

TeamPldWDLForAgainstPtsCalry/St. Joseph's3 2 0 1 2-37 1-24 4Bunninadden3 2 0 1 2-35 2-25 4Tubbercurry3 2 0 1 1-38 1-31 4St. Molaise Gaels3 0 0 3 1-15 2-45 0

Group B

Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score 21 July Tubbercurry   Coolera/Strandhill   2-7   Castleconnor   0-10 24 July Tubbercurry   Curry   1-12   St. Mary's   1-6 7 August Tubbercurry   Coolera/Strandhill   1-7   Curry   0-9 7 August Tubbercurry   Castleconnor   1-7   St. Mary's   0-10 14 August Markievicz Park   Coolera/Strandhill   1-13   St. Mary's   0-6 14 August Easkey   Curry   1-13   Castleconnor   1-8

TeamPldWDLForAgainstPtsCoolera/Strandhill3 3 0 0 4-27 0-25 6Curry3 2 0 1 2-34 3-21 4Castleconnor3 0 1 2 2-25 3-30 1St. Mary's3 0 1 2 1-22 3-32 1

Group C

Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score 24 July Markievicz Park   Tourlestrane   1-15   Shamrock Gaels   0-7 24 July Markievicz Park   Drumcliffe/Rosses Point   1-10   St. John's   2-5 7 August Markievicz Park   Drumcliffe/Rosses Point   0-9   Shamrock Gaels   0-9 7 August Enniscrone   Tourlestrane   0-15   St. John's   0-7 13 August Markievicz Park   Tourlestrane   1-13   Drumcliffe/Rosses Point   1-6 14 August Ballymote   Shamrock Gaels   0-14   St. John's   1-11

TeamPldWDLForAgainstPtsTourlestrane3 3 0 0 5-34 4-23 6Drumcliffe/Rosses Point3 1 1 1 3-27 2-28 3Shamrock Gaels3 0 2 1 4-25 2-33 2St. John's3 1 1 2 1-26 5-30 1

Group D

Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score 24 July Tubbercurry   Eastern Harps   1-14   Ballymote   1-13 7 August Enniscrone   Easkey   0-12   Ballymote   0-5 14 August Tubbercurry   Eastern Harps   1-16   Easkey   1-10

TeamPldWDLForAgainstPtsEastern Harps2 2 0 0 2-30 2-23 4Easkey2 1 0 1 1-22 1-21 2Ballymote2 0 0 2 1-18 1-26 0

Playoffs

Only one group required a playoff. In Group A Calry/St. Joseph's, Bunninadden and Tubbercurry all finished level on points, with Calry/St. Joseph's gaining top spot on scoring difference. Bunninadden and Tubbercurry met in the playoff, and it was Tubber who were victorious, as they had been in the earlier group meeting. This was the fifth year in succession that Bunninadden had not reached the knockout stages, going back to their 2000 title victory.

Group Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score Group A 21 August Ballymote   Tubbercurry   1-10   Bunninadden   0-8

Quarterfinals

The quarter finals of the Championship saw the exit of Calry/St. Joseph's, Tubbercurry, Easkey and Drumcliffe/Rosses Point. Curry, Coolera/Strandhill, Tourlestrane and Eastern Harps qualified for the semi-finals. The Tourlestrane/Easkey proved a bizarre affair, with Easkey failing to score for over forty minutes. By then Tourlestrane had racked up 2–10 and were preparing for the semi-finals.

Game Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score Sligo SFCQuarter Final 27 August Markievicz Park Coolera/Strandhill 1-13 Tubbercurry 1-11 Sligo SFCQuarter Final 27 August Markievicz Park Curry 1-20 Calry/St. Joseph's 1-10 Sligo SFCQuarter Final 28 August Markievicz Park Tourlestrane 2-13 Easkey 0-3 Sligo SFCQuarter Final 28 August Markievicz Park Eastern Harps 1-8 Drumcliffe/Rosses Point 0-8

Semifinals

The semi-finals saw the defeat of reigning champions Tourlestrane, beaten by rivals Curry after a replay. In the other Semi-Final Coolera/Strandhill withstood a late Eastern Harps rally to claim their place in the final.

Game Date Venue Team A Score Team B Score Sligo SFCSemi-Final 4 September Markievicz Park Coolera/Strandhill 1-10 Eastern Harps 0-12 Sligo SFCSemi-Final 4 September Markievicz Park Curry 1-8 Tourlestrane 0-11 Sligo SFCSemi-Final Replay (After Extra-Time) 10 September Markievicz Park Curry 1-11 Tourlestrane 1-7

Last eight

Sligo Senior Football Championship Final Coolera/Strandhill0-10 - 0-9(final score after 60 minutes)CurryManager:Alan Kelly

Team: J. Curran R. O'Connor K. Cooney A. Kelly T. Watters N. Carew G. McCarroll C. O'Meara K. Quinn (0-1) S. Carty J. McPartland (0-5) K. O'Neill S. Quinn (0-1) B. Doyle (0-1) C. Mullen (0-1)

Substitutes: C. Quinn (0-1)Half-time:0-6 0-4

Competition:Sligo Senior Football Championship(Final)

Date:15.30 BSTSunday, 18 September 2006

Venue:Markievicz Park, Sligo

Referee:Michael Duffy (Enniscrone)

Match rules:60 minutes.Replay if scores still level.Maximum of 5 substitutions.Manager:Francis Henry

Team: J. Durcan B. Collins J. Feeney S. Marren S. Haran Barry McDonagh K. Morley G. Maye (0-1) S. Davey (0-1) K. Giblin D. Colleary (0-2) A. Marren (0-2) P. Henry (0-1) P. Durcan Brian McDonagh (0-2)

Substitutes: A. Brennan

References Sligo Champion (Summer/Autumn 2005) Sligo Weekender (Summer/Autumn 2005) Western People (September 2005)