A full hour after the astroturf had settled, crowds were still coming through the turnstiles in the Bronx.

Sligo survived a brief but real scare in the Bronx tonight before their experience and class told late on to see off a spirited New York.

Mark Breheny holds the distinction of being the longest-serving player in inter-county football, having made his Sligo debut in 2000. Now 36, he has an encyclopaedic memory of the matches he’s played along the way.

Joe Hayes is unsure which provincial runners-up await Clare should Colm Collins’ side do the business in Markievicz Park this afternoon.

Sligo captain Mark Breheny believes the football qualifiers have run their course and reckons change is necessary so to keep fresh the All-Ireland SFC format.

Sligo 1-11 Westmeath 1-10: Teenager Kyle Cawley’s cool 54th-minute goal inspired Sligo to a one-point win over Westmeath to kick-start the county’s league campaign.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Corofin (Galway) 4-14 St Mary’s (Sligo) 2-6: Classy Corofin cruised into a second successive Connacht club SFC decider as the reigning All-Ireland champions were just too good for Sligo outfit St Mary’s in a one-sided provincial semi-final at Markievicz Park.

Sligo manager Niall Carew will be calling on Mark Breheny and his other batch of ‘vets’ to stay on in 2016 so that the Connacht side can build on what he views as a season of promise.

Sligo will invoke the spirit of 2002 as they strive to redeem themselves against Tyrone at Croke Park today.

Niall Carew has reinvented Sligo. The Kildare native experiences his first Connacht final tomorrow at Hyde Park, as the county renews rivalries with Mayo, three years after losing narrowly to their neighbours in the decider at the Roscommon venue.

Sligo 1-14 Roscommon 0-13: Underdogs Sligo had too much bite for an under-performing Roscommon in Saturday’s absorbing Connacht SFC semi-final at Markievicz Park.

Sligo manager Niall Carew says the chance to work with David Kelly and Adrian Marren was the big reason he accepted the chance to manage the Yeats County.

Sligo 1-19 Armagh 1-08: Sharpshooter Adrian Marren scored eight points as an improving Sligo retained their Division 3 status with an 11-point defeat of a lethargic Armagh at Markievicz Park.

Sligo 2-10, Wexford 1-8:

Sligo 2-26, Louth 2-9 Sligo kick-started their faltering Division 3 campaign with a sparkling defeat of Louth at Markievicz Park, their first win in four league outings.

Allianz FL Division 3 Round 2: Sligo 0-12 Fermanagh 0-14: Another impressive performance from full-forward Sean Quigley helped Fermanagh continue their good start to Division Three when they overcame a dogged Sligo at Markievicz Park.

Sligo 1-13 GMIT 0-08: Veteran forward Mark Breheny scored 1-5 as Sligo secured their first win under new boss Niall Carew thanks to an improved second-half display against plucky GMIT in an entertaining FBD Connacht League Section ‘B’ fixture at Collooney’s Connolly Park.

Galway and Mayo kept their unbeaten starts to 2015 intact, while NUIG and Sligo also recorded wins in the FBD League this afternoon.

Cork 0-21 Sligo 1-11

Sligo captain Adrian Marren reckons the Garth Brooks debacle might have robbed him of the chance to play at Croke Park for the first time.

Sligo 0-12 Limerick 0-10

Sligo 0-12 Limerick 0-10

Sligo 0-12 Wicklow 0-10

Galway 0-16 Sligo 0-11

Sligo 0-11 Galway 0-16

It says much about the state of Sligo football when their own players suggest it’s the pull of Sky Sports’ coverage at Markievicz Park this evening that will bump up attendance figures.

Connacht Council secretary John Prenty has plenty to smile about at the moment.

Derry 0-15 Sligo 0-08

London 1-12 Sligo 0-14

London captain Seamus Hannon says yesterday’s victory over Sligo comes as no surprise to their squad, and they’re planning a repeat performance in Carrick-on-Shannon next month.

London 1-12 Sligo 0-14, Ruislip

Meath 1-17 Sligo 2-12

Leinster 1-21 Connacht 1-20

Sligo 1-12 Antrim 0-13

Roscommon 1-11 Sligo 1-08

Sligo 0-05 Leitrim 0-08

Leitrim 0-8 Sligo 0-5, Markievicz Park

Sligo and Leitrim will contest the Connacht FBD League final after the completion of the group stages of the competition this afternoon.

Michael Meehan looked back to his best for Galway as his four points helped the Tribesmen to a facile win 0-16 to 0-6 over NUI Galway at Tuam Stadium yesterday.

The 114th Connacht senior final won’t live particularly long in the memory, especially for the purists, but that won’t unduly concern Mayo as they make plans for their return to Croke Park as provincial champions next month.

Following a Connacht final defeat that players and management universally termed ‘disappointing’, Mark Breheny took a drop of encouragement from the fact that Sligo have almost a fortnight to prepare for round four of the All-Ireland football qualifiers.