Roscommon joint-manager Kevin McStay admitted that Sligo's excellent first-half performance had left them in "a deep hole" in their Connacht SFC semi-final.
An Adrian Marren penalty and a goal from teenager Kyle Cawley on the brink of half-time gave the Yeats County an imposing 2-08 to 0-06 interval advantage at Dr Hyde Park.
But the Rossies returned from the dressing-room a different side and, aided by the wind, rapidly overturned their arrears and running out 4-16 to 2-13 winners.
"We were very worried (at half-time)," McStay told RTÉ Sport. "Eight points down in a Championship match normally means curtains.
"But we didn't feel we were an eight points inferior team, four or five maybe, but the goal before half-time really put us in a deep hole.
"We knew the wind was decent but we weren't playing well enough to break up eight points.
"I just asked that we would go to the last minute and get a little bit more composure. We are a scoring team and when we get moving we do accumulate fairly quickly.
"To score 4-10 and keep Sligo to five points in the second half is maybe a bit flattering on us, but a decent turnover by our fellas."
Roscommon's recovery was kickstarted less than 60 seconds after the restart, when Senan Kilbride pounced to fist the ball to the net.
"That was massive, they must have been saying 'we'll hold it tight for a few minutes and get an anchor for the second half', but the first ball comes in - we were going for a point I think - it was miskicked and that's the most dangerous ball in football.
"Senan gets a lot of those type of goals and that was a massive lift. From eight to five, psychologically, is a lot more than three points."
We are a scoring team and when we get moving we do accumulate fairly quickly.
For Sligo boss Niall Carew, the losses of Charlie Harrison to injury and Adrian Marren, who had scored 1-03 in the opening 35 minutes, to a black card meant his side were always going to find it tough to hold on to their half-time lead.
"Losing Charlie Harrison, defensively were kind of going to struggle then because we don't have anyone else with that experience.
"But we were in a great position, the half-time whistle came too quick for us.
"Adrian was playing well, he was a handfiul and they were struggling with him. When you lose a player like that up front, your marksman, they're the sort of players that keep you ticking over.
"They get you a point or two to keep the pockets of energy going.
"But Roscommon blitzed us in the second half and you have to commend them for that."
