McEntee: 'Penalties was a tough way for anyone to lose'

Both Andy Moran and Tony McEntee were enthused after an entertaining Tailteann Cup quarter-final went the way of Sligo after a penalty shootout in Carrick-on-Shannon.

A vibrant contest went the full distance in Avantmoney Páirc Sean MacDiarmada, Keith Beirne nailing an 87th minute score to send it to spot kicks.

Sligo keeper Aidan Devaney was the decisive figure in the shootout, saving from Ryan O'Rourke and Emlyn Mulligan to book his side's ticket to Croker.

Oddly enough, it was the losing manager Moran who was more accepting of penalties as a means of settling drawn games, insisting it was "fair" and brought "great excitement."

The Sligo boss, by contrast, was inclined to think the shootout "pot-luck" after a game he felt his team should have won.

"It was a great game of football. It was a hugely entertaining match for what was a great crowd and they got great value there," said McEntee.

"Penalties was a very hard way for one of those teams to lose.

"I would have felt we had a number of chances to win that game and left a number of chances behind us. Going to penalties is always pot luck. We're delighted to get the result but we know we've a lot to work on and improve.

"As the game, we kicked a lot of wides. In total, we had 48 shots, which is a remarkable amount of shots. So, there was some bad decision making there.

"But we worked our way into the game, we fought hard and we were up against a very good Leitrim team."

The results sends Sligo to the last-four alongside Westmeath, Cavan and Offaly, with the prize of a trip to GAA HQ.

"I think it's 2002 since Sligo last put four results together like that. And I think it's 2015 since they last got a trip to Croke Park. There's four of this team that has played in Croke Park before.