LEITRIM ARE THROUGH to the FBD League final after a brave second-half fightback saw them earn a draw against Sligo in Ballinamore this afternoon.
The visitors had the better of the early exchanges, maintaining a lead of two points or more for most of the first half and it was the Yeats County who scored the game’s first goal, Niall Murphy finding the net before Damian O’Boyle pointed from the free out to give them a 1-6 to 0-4 lead on 27 minutes.
It looked as if Leitrim’s hopes of defending their title were over at half-time when Adrian Marren slotted home a penalty to give Sligo a 2-7 to 0-7 lead at the break.
However, the 2013 champions were not to be denied and worked their way back into the game in the second half thanks to points from Emlyn Mulligan and Darren Sweeney before Tomas Beirne fisted home to draw the sides level at 1-10 to 2-7.
The teams shared the final four points of the game with Leitrim knowing a draw would be enough to ensure they meet Roscommon in the decider next Sunday after the Rossies secured a two point win over All-Ireland finalists Mayo.
As with Leitrim, things looked bleak for Roscommon at half time as they trailed 0-6 to 0-3. However, they found their shooting boots in the second half and outscored the Connacht champions by double scores to book their final spot on a scoreline of 1-10 to 1-8.
Elsewhere, Galway missed out on a final spot despite beating GMIT by 13 points to eight while IT Sligo ran out 1-13 to 0-8 winners over NUI Galway.
Results
Section A
IT Sligo 1-13 v NUI Galway 0-8, Connacht GAA centre, Bekan
Roscommon 1-10 v Mayo 1-8, Ballinlough
Section B
Galway 0-13 v GMIT 0-6, Tuam Stadium
Leitrim 1-12 v Sligo 2-9, Ballinamore
