Sligo’s good run in recent league and championship matches has been overshadowed by the senior team’s comprehensive defeat at the hands of Wexford on Sunday. A score line of 3-07 to 1-06, over 45 frees awarded and over 20 chances off target meant that this encounter was anything but a pretty sight.

The Yeats men conceded an early penalty which was converted and they seemed to be at sea for the next twenty minutes with the model County in complete control. Wexford however could not find the target despite having the upper hand for most of the first half and when Sligo eventually settled they seemed to be about to pull the game out of the fire.

From the twenty minute mark Sligo scored a total of five points from frees and play to keep them within a point of the home side at the break. Eugene Mullen went off injured before the break to add to Sligo’s list of casualties with the only bit of good news being that his replacement Stephen Gilmartin had a good game with some fine fielding in the second half.

The second half started brightly enough for the visitors, not that they recorded any scores but they seemed to be more in control. Some promising attacks failed because they made elementary mistakes and fouled the ball on several occasions.

Charlie Harrison fielded a great ball near his own goal and in general Sligo’s defence was solid. But Wexford added two to their points tally from simple frees and then hit the jackpot when Noel McGuire failed to field a high ball which sailed through his normally sure grip leaving Wexford with a goal chance that they pounced on..

Sligo had a couple of credible goal chances too in the half but it was the home side that raised the green flag once more when the ball was fisted into the net during a "scrum" in the square.

All seemed to be lost but the fight continued to reduce the deficit if nothing else and Alan Costello’s effort hit the back of the net having been deflected.

That was as good as it got and despondency was the order of the day after the final whistle.

EARLY RETIREMENT

While Minister Hannifin has declared that most of us will have to work longer before enjoying the benefits of a pension the GAA is proposing to enforce early retirement on its inter county referees. Pat Mc Enaney who will himself be affected by this new rule has given it his total support. The proposal is part of a new strategic plan to improve standards in refereeing.

Mc Enaney reckons that older inter County refs. are clogging up the system and slowing down the process of getting younger blood into top flight inter County action. He maintains that there will be plenty of opportunities for the over fifties in coaching and assessment which are two vital areas that need experienced officials.

The Monaghan Referee was also critical of the amount of time taken up with disciplinary actions. Comparisons were made with the Rugby code where decisions are arrived at a lot more promptly than in Gaelic games. He mentioned the fact that referees are asked to view video evidence in order to upgrade a sanction but are not consulted when a decision by the official is down graded.

John Bannon has a motion down to make the cccc the body responsible for the citing process. This would mean that once a game is over the official in charge would have no further input into altering sanctions that he took on the day. It is also likely that the avenues at present available to players to appeal decisions will be curtailed and that like rugby decisions and appeals will be done and dusted within a week of the incident.

The referee of the future will be recruited in his early twenties and will undergo training and refresher courses to equip him for the inter County scene after a few years. The practice of recruiting players at the end of their playing careers will cease.

TEXTING TIMES

Those who look after child welfare in the Association have decreed that it is inappropriate for managers to text under age players about games and training sessions. The recommendation is based on the premise that a manager should not be in possession of a young persons mobile number in any circumstances. The move has generated a lot of debate and it is part of a series of measures including Garda vetting which are being introduced to protect children. These measures are also there to protect the reputation of those who work with young people in the Association. The GAA realises that some of the measures now being introduced will become mandatory in time anyway and the Association believes that it is better to put them in place sooner rather than later.

Measures such as Garda vetting are no guarantee that inappropriate people will not find themselves in charge of juveniles however previous convictions will be picked up on and those intending to prey on children will know that their background will be checked out if they intend having contact with kids in a coaching environment.