NICKY RACKARD CUP PREVIEW: Larkin's Mayo men all set for Sligo challenge

There’s no doubt Ray Larkin’s Mayo hurlers are in fine form of late. Three wins from three so far in the Nicky Rackard Cup and impressive performances to go with the results. Home victories against Roscommon and Louth while in the midst of that, they powered to a 21-point victory over Armagh whilst shooting 1-29 in the Orchard County’s back yard.

On Saturday, they host Sligo in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park at 2pm, in a match which will put the Green and Red to the pin of their collar.

The Mayo men have a superb forward unit put together and as each game goes by, the scoreboards are continuing to show big totals, which is a credit to Larkin’s men. In their last game where a six-point winning margin was enough to fend off the challenge of Louth, the starting six forwards contributed a hefty 1-21 of the 1-24 score.

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The attack made up of three Tooreen and three Ballyhaunis players made sure the unit displayed a fair share of the scores. With speedy half forward Liam Lavin operating on the wings, the Tooreen man can issue danger to any opponent.

The accurate Cormac Phillips and Shane Boland certainly know where the posts are but the question is can they shoot the lights out once again when Stephen Shiel’s Sligo side enter MacHale Park next Saturday. 

Sligo opened their championship campaign with a five-point win over Louth while their second clash resulted in the spoils being shared when they hosted fellow Connacht side, Roscommon in Markievicz Park.

Their most recent clash led them to Brewster Park where they took on Fermanagh. Although conceding 2-18, the Yeats County racked up an impressive 7-20 to record their second win of the campaign. 

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On Saturday, home advantage could work in the Green and Red’s favour. When the sides last faced each other, Mayo came out on top narrowly with a two-point margin illustrating how close it was. However, Sligo’s Allianz League Campaign ended in poor style for Stephen Shiel as they finished bottom of Division three.

A winless league for The Yeats Men wasn't the plan but on recent performances, there is no doubt that improvement has been made. In the same division, Mayo finished in second place before they secured silverware by beating London in the final.

Although Mayo know that victory at the weekend will almost certainly guarantee a place in the final, expect a close competitive battle between the two Connacht sides on Saturday afternoon.

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