New York will play their first competitive match since before the pandemic when they face Sligo in the Connacht SFC quarter-final at Gaelic Park on Sunday.

Ticket sales have been brisk for what will be the Exiles’ first championship game since May 5, 2019 when they suffered a heavy defeat to Mayo on a miserable afternoon in the Bronx. Similar to London, Covid restrictions meant that New York didn’t see championship action in 2020 or 2021. However, London have been back at it since the start of the year, and with a successful Allianz League Division 4 campaign behind them, will fancy their chances of securing a rare championship win at Leitrim’s expense this weekend.

Apart from inhouse matches, New York’s only game in preparation for the visit of the Yeats County was against Salthill/Knocknacarra in the Sean Armstrong Cup final last month. Managed by Johnny McGeeney, they are expected to field a number of homegrown players, including captain Jamie Boyle. Their marquee names are former Galway footballer Adrian Varley and the towering Johnny Glynn, who won an All-Ireland SHC medal with the Tribesmen in 2017.

New York have never won a game in the Connacht SFC, but are assured of a second outing this year in the inaugural Tailteann Cup on Irish soil in the event of them failing to break their duck on Sunday.

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