Fortune favours the brave

Even now, four days later, I'm not sure if my hearing has recovered from the explosion of noise that greeted Aoibheann Flynn's match winning goal last Saturday in Ballinamore, a noise so prolonged and overwhelming that I momentarily feared the roof was going to come off the stand in Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin.

Tears flowed, hugs, high fives, leaping and roaring abounded and that was just in front of me in the stand as what looked as if it was going to be a heartbreaking defeat turned into joy unconfined in the blink of an eye, the time it took for Ballinamore to pounce on  an unfortunate slip and turn it into All-Ireland Final gold. 

Trying to explain what happened in those final frantic minutes defies description but after winning twice against the odds on their way to Croke Park, first against Eoghan Rua in the Connacht Final and then grabbing victory from the jaws of defeat against Steelstown Brian Ogs last Saturday, all I can do is advise everyone connected with Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins Ladies to do the lotto because they are riding  a hot streak right at the moment!

Diagnosing the problem is the first problem

By John Connolly

If that seems like I'm attributing Ballinamore's incredible victory to luck, it is because luck played its part and that is undeniable. What also played its part was Ballinamore's courage in attacking what everyone in the stand believed was a lost cause in those dying seconds and their resilience and spirit in never giving up.

Steelstown Brian Ogs keeper Molly McBride will have nightmares about Ballinamore's winning goal for some time but if fortune smiled on the Leitrim team as the Derry woman slipped and lost the ball, their bravery was rewarded because three Ballinamore players had surrounded the keeper and forced the mistake.

Hindsight is easy - Steelstown's superb Aoife McGough was unmarked 20 yards away to McBride's right, a looping hand pass or a scuttery kicked ball would have done the trick and heartbreak would have been Ballinamore's lot. Worse still, had the keeper held onto the ball, instead of it spilling from her grasp, odds are the visitors would have been taken to extra-time at the very worst.

But these things don't happen in isolation - of course, luck shone on Ballinamore but it was a 'luck' they earned as they forced Steelstown back down the left wing, a series of short handpasses growing increasingly panicked as Ballinamore players hunted down their opponents with an almost fanatical  zeal.

McBride was the unfortunate one to literally slip but the hunger that Ballinamore displayed, the fact that three O'Heslins players were there to force that slip only reinforces the notion that while they've enjoyed a large slice of luck against Eoghan Rua and Steelstown Brian Ogs, it was luck they earned through their resilience and courage.

Luck doesn't explain everything does it? It doesn't explain the save Leighanne Flynn made in the first half, the Steelstown point disallowed for over-carrying, two botched goal chances for the Derry women in the first half or the way O'Heslins seemingly grew bolder and more assertive as the pressure grew and grew throughout the second half.

Nor does it explain the wonder that was Roisin McHugh - the quietly spoken Ballinamore  centre forward doesn’t like being the centre of attention but her actions on the field speak far louder than any words, her three scores from play simply out of this world.

Sometimes you wonder if some greater force is at work  - Leighanne Flynn, not that she'll thank me for this, endured a traumatic afternoon against St Mary's in the group stages of the Leitrim Club championship, letting in a couple of horror goals but the Ballinamore netminder has made a series of wonder saves that have got her team to an All-Ireland Final.

Her sister, Aoibheann, has been a goal machine all year but last Saturday, Steelstown had her pretty well wrapped up - that is until added time when the corner forward struck 1-1 and wrote her name indelibly into the history of Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins.

Ballinamore's history is  a proud one but I don't think any day in their history, men or women, could surpass last Saturday as they reopened their re-laid pitch. It has been a long 15 plus months without their home in action but what a way to showcase a fantastic new surface while the  organisation of the entire event spoke of a club embracing the moment, so proud of their heroines.

A week of one high and two lows in Leitrim GAA

By John Connolly

Women's team sports have been historically neglected but what a day like Saturday will do for Ballinamore and the Ladies game in the county is unquantifiable. 

If there was one regret last weekend, it was the sight of Claremorris winning their way to the All-Ireland Junior Final - I don't begrudge the Mayo women their moment of glory, far from it, they are a quality outfit but St Brigid's must wonder what might have been had they been a little bit more accurate in their Connacht Final against the now All-Ireland finalists.

But that's sport for you - sometimes it is not enough to give your all, sometimes you need that bit of luck and then you've got to have the killer instinct to make the most of that luck. But maybe, just maybe, when you keep finding that bit of luck landing in your lap, it is not luck but something you've earned. Congratulations to Ballinamore on winning their way to Croke Park where we all hope that their hard-earned luck will continue for one more game!