Sligo picked up their second win of the campaign with an eventually impressive defeat of Waterford at Markievicz Park.
The only negative for Sligo was that they didn't score any goals but Sean Carrabine was again on form – he scored 0-8 – against an underwhelming Waterford side who got 0-5 from wing-back Dermot Ryan.
Waterford came to Sligo on the back of two losses from the opening two rounds – defeats to Leitrim and Carlow that left them on the bottom of the table.
Sligo, meanwhile, were hopeful that a second round win away to Wicklow signalled that their promotion campaign was back on track after a disappointing home reversal to title favourites Laois.
Waterford captain Dermot Ryan opened the game’s scoring with a good point but it was wind-assisted Sligo who quickly settled and they were 0-3 to 0-1 up by the 12th minute – an early burst of scores that included a fine score from Patrick O’Connor.
Waterford replied with their second point which was, in fact, a goal chance for Conor Murray that he blasted over after 13 minutes.
Sligo continued to impress and they reeled off four points without reply to lead 0-7 to 0-2 by the 20th minute.
At this stage Sean Carrabine was pulling the strings for Sligo who were still fortunate that Dylan Guiry didn’t get through for a goal but he was fouled and Brian Lynch converted the free.
Sligo added further points through Niall Murphy and Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch and might have had a goal but Niall Murphy’s goalbound flick was somehow kept out by Waterford goalkeeper Paudie Hunt.
The hosts, who brought a five-point lead into the second-half, 0-9 to 0-4, continued this dominance and they had extended this advantage to nine points, 0-14 to 0-5, by the 47th minute when Nathan Mullen found the target.
There were some moments of class from Waterford, especially wing-back Dermot Ryan’s score-taking – he scored three points from play in the second period to bring his tally to 0-5 – but this was Sligo’s game to lose.
Indeed, Sligo were flat for portions of the second-half and they could have goaled on a number of occasions but moves broke down or there were last-gasp interceptions as what happened when Waterford full-back Liam Fennell or goalkeeper Paudie Hunt intervened.
Waterford appeared dead and buried but with two minutes of normal time left they had the gap down to five points, 0-17 to 0-12, following three unanswered points from Conor Murray, Donal Fitzgerald and John Devine, whose effort was a notable one.
Sligo finished strongly, however, and two scores in stoppage time saw them break the 20-point barrier as Sean Carrabine notched his eighth point of the day and Cian Lally shot his side’s 21st point.
Sligo: Daniel Lyons, Nathan Mullen (0-1), Eddie McGuinness, Evan Lyons, Luke Towey (0-1), Darragh Cummins, Paul McNamara, Paul Kilcoyne, Pat Spillane (0-1), Cian Lally (0-1), Sean Carrabine (0-8, 6f), David Quinn (0-1), Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch (0-1), Patrick O’Connor (0-2), Niall Murphy (c) (0-2)
Subs used: Jack Lavin (0-1) for Darragh Cummins, 28; Alan Reilly (0-1) for Pat Spillane, 44; Finnian Cawley for Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch, 49; Donal Conlon (0-1) for Patrick O’Connor, 51; Luke Nicholson for Luke Towey, 68
Waterford: Paudie Hunt, Ross Browne, Liam Fennell, Conor O’Currin, Dermot Ryan (c) (0-5), Darragh Corcoran, Jordan O’Sullivan, Kevin Sheehan, Brian Lynch (0-2, 2f), Jack Keane, Conor Murray (0-3), Michael Curry, Eoghan McGrath-Butler, Dylan Guiry, Caoimhin Walsh
Subs used: Michael Kiely for Caoimhin Walsh, 19; John Devine (0-1) for Jack Keane, 23; Jason Curry (0-1) for Kevin Sheehan, 51; Brian Looby for Jordan O’Sullivan, 55; Donal Fitzgerald (0-1) for Eoghan McGrath-Butler, 60
Referee: Enda McFeely (Donegal)
