SUNDAY 6 MAY
1530 London v Sligo, Ruislip
ONLINE
Live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News Now App from 1530 on Sunday afternoon.
RADIO
Live updates and analysis throughout the afternoon with commentary from Pauric Lodge and Paul Coggins.
TV
Highlights of the game will be shown on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm that night.
Past 5 championship meetings
2013 London 1-12 Sligo 0-14
2008 London 0-07 Sligo 2-17
2003 London 0-09 Sligo 3-11
1998 London 1-07 Sligo 0-14
1993 London 0-09 Sligo 0-12
One could be mischievous and frame it that London are going for their third successive summertime victory over Sligo.
It was in this fixture five years ago that London claimed a famous win over Sligo, their first in the Connacht championship in 36 years.
And in '08, they beat an admittedly under-strength and somewhat uninterested Sligo team in the late and unlamented Tommy Murphy Cup.
Sligo had fallen into Division 4 that spring and several of their top stars were offended at being placed in the second tier competition rather than the qualifiers following their loss to Mayo in the Connacht championship and opted out altogether.
That unpopular structure lasted only one year.
Prior to that, Sligo were unbeaten against the exiles but often made heavy weather of it relative to other sides in the province.
FORM GUIDE
This year, Sligo, under new management, narrowly avoided dropping into Division 4, holding their composure on the final day to ensure Derry dropped into the bottom tier instead.
It was a ropey enough campaign on the whole for Sligo but they found their best form when they abandoned the defensive template, racking up 0-18 in a home draw with promotion chasing Longford and hitting 3-11 when besting Derry in the do-or-die relegation clash.
It should be noted that new manager Cathal Corey didn't exactly prioritise the league, saying that he had no particular ambitions for it other than blooding new players while ideally remaining in the division.
London played six out of seven League games in the spring, with their home tie against Leitrim falling victim to the weather and eventually being written off as a dead rubber.
They won one, drew one and lost four from the games they did play, comfortably beating Wicklow and drawing with Limerick the following week.
One of the standout features of London football in the past couple of years is the increasing presence of London-born players in the side. The starting line-up for the league win over Wicklow included no fewer than seven players born in the city, including Philip Butler and Liam Gavaghan.
Player watch:
Kyle Cawley (Sligo)
Still a teenager when he first announced himself on the senior stage with the winning goal against Westmeath in the league clash two years ago, Cawley has emerged as a bright young starlet of the Sligo forward line. A pacy player with an eye for a three pointer, he hit the goal which made sure of a Sligo win in Gaelic Park last year.
Manager watch:
Ciaran Deely (London): The energetic Wexford native is in his third year in the job and is still seeking a first championship scalp.
The London manager has one of the more interesting back-stories. A former Wexford captain at senior level, Deely works professionally as a sports scientist at the QPR academy and previously worked for the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (a club previously coached by Terry Phelan).
Deely made headlines this winter when he complained that London were treated as an after-thought by the GAA after the GAA failed to provide linesmen and a sideline official for their opening league game against Carlow.
Cathal Corey (Sligo): The Tyrone man is finally getting a shot at inter-county management having been touted as a potential boss at both Derry and Donegal in recent years.
Corey's managerial career is heavily tied to Jim McGuinness with whom he served as co-manager of Glenties during their drive for a county title in the late noughties.
It was only when McGuinness moved on to manage the Donegal U21's and Corey took sole charge that they won the county title, eventually reaching an Ulster club final which they lost to Crossmaglen Rangers.
Corey, who was the last county manager to be appointed for the 2018 campaign, spoke during the league that his focus was on developing a nucleus of younger players.
TEAMS
London: yet to name their side
Sligo: Aidan Devaney, Ross Donavan, Luke Nicholson, Charlie Harrison, Gerard O’Kelly Lynch, Adrian McIntyre, Neil Ewing, Niall Murphy, Kevin McDonnell, Cathal Henry, Cian Breheny, Pat Hughes, Liam Gaughan, Adrian Marren, Kyle Cawley
WEATHER
Those heading for Ruislip will be treated with a sunny day and temperatures hitting 23°C.
