Sligo secured a dramatic draw with Kildare thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser from substitute David Quinn at Markievicz Park.
Half a dozen points from the outstanding Niall Murphy stunned favourites Kildare, who only sparkled in patches.
The hosts finished with 14 players due to a 67th-minute red card for Sean Carrabine, who picked up two bookings, while Kildare ended the game with 13 players – a black card for Kevin O'Callaghan in stoppage-time followed by the dismissal of Darragh Kirwan (two bookings) in the eighth minute of time added on.
On paper this appeared a straightforward assignment for Kildare – they held their own in Division Two of the Allianz Football League, while Sligo were winning Division Four.
Their respective championships also contrasted – Kildare lost the Leinster semi-final but were competitive against a Dublin side that crushed Louth by 21 points in the final; Sligo lost by 14 points to Galway in the Connacht decider.
But Kildare boss Glenn Ryan will have had first-hand knowledge of losing to Sligo as a player when the sides famously met in the qualifiers at Croke Park 22 years ago.
Sligo also beat Kildare in the championship at Markievicz Park in 2005 but it was Kildare that had the edge with a decisive win over the Connacht county at Dr Hyde Park in 2012.
The home side welcomed back experienced goalkeeper Aidan Devaney, who was making his first start of 2023 after recovering from injury.
Kildare opened the scoring with a point from a Paddy Woodgate free as the opening period became a tit-for-tat affair – both sides comfortable in possession and also getting bodies back, but Kildare looked sharper and made fewer turnovers than Sligo.
Sligo had a shot at goal inside the opening five minutes but Alan Reilly was off target from a move involving Niall Murphy and Sean Carrabine.
The visitors’ centre-back Kevin Flynn landed two excellent points in the opening half and the first of these came after 13 minutes to put Kildare 0-03 to 0-02 in front.
But points from Sean Carrabine, who kicked a lovely score, and a Niall Murphy pointed free had Sligo ahead for the first time, 0-04 to 0-03, by the 20th minute.
Kildare twice threatened Sligo’s goal – Paddy McDermott lost his footing when about to go around Sligo goalkeeper Aidan Devaney and then Woodgate blasted over over the bar with a close-range shot.
Kildare went two points in front with 33 minutes on the clock but a fine point from Finnian Cawley kept Sligo in touch and just a point down, 0-07 to 0-06, by half-time.
The second half began with a storming response from Sligo who landed three unanswered points to go 0-09 to 0-07 ahead by the 40th minute.
Sean Carrabine pointed twice during this positive phase but Kildare hit back with two points on the bounce before Sligo regained the lead for the last time when Murphy pointed after 47 minutes.
Kildare began to take charge, however, and they established a three-point lead by the 67th minute, 0-14 to 0-11, with substitute Jack Robinson adding his side’s 14th point from a long-range free.
But Sligo remained resilient and scored three points without reply to tie up the scores – a brace from Murphy followed by Quinn’s score in the eighth minute of stoppage time for a sensational finish watched by an attendance of 2,933.
Kildare will rue that they let this slip although only Kevin Flynn and Darragh Kirwan, who bagged three points, really excelled.
Sligo: Aidan Devaney, Evan Lyons, Eddie McGuinness, Nathan Mullen, Paul McNamara, Brian Cox, Luke Towey, Cian Lally, Paul Kilcoyne, Finnian Cawley (0-02), Sean Carrabine (0-04), Darragh Cummins (0-01), Alan Reilly, Patrick O’Connor, Niall Murphy (0-06, 2f).
Subs: Pat Spillane for Patrick O’Connor (55), Mikey Gordon for Finnian Cawley (62), Keelan Cawley for Darragh Cummins (65), David Quinn (0-01) for Cian Lally (66), Mark Walsh for Alan O’Reilly (70).
Kildare: Mark Donnellan, Mick O’Grady, Shea Ryan, Eoin Doyle, David Hyland, Kevin Flynn (0-02), Jack Sargent, Kevin O’Callaghan, Aaron Masterson (0-01), Paddy McDermott, Kevin Feely (0-01m), Alex Beirne (0-02), Paul Cribbin, Darragh Kirwan (0-03), Paddy Woodgate (0-04, 1f, 1 ‘45).
Subs: Jack Robinson (0-1f) for Kevin Feely (45), Darragh Malone for Paul Cribbin (53), Tony Archbold for Paddy McDermott (58), Ryan Houlihan for Jack Sargent (70).
Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan).
