Another venue ticked off the list

Fraher Field in Dungarvan probably wouldn't be on many people's wish list for places to go and see but last Sunday's Allianz NFL Division 4 clash against Waterford gave me a chance to tick an item off my own personal  list, that of county venues I've seen Leitrim play at.

It is one of those vagaries of scheduling and  commitments that the marathon journey  to Ireland's overcast and windy  south east last Sunday was my first in my time with the Observer, a trip down to the spiritual home of Waterford football and despite a draining almost four hour trek back home, it was one worth making.

Most times the decision on what games we travel to comes down to expediency and the importance of the game. More often than not, we have  arrangements with our   counterparts in the local media of the opposing counties to  cover the game and we return the favour when they next visit Leitrim -  an arrangement as old as newspapers themselves but sometimes, it is nice to get out on the road too.

With the Men's and Ladies teams in action literally at opposite ends of the country, the decision to head to Dungarvan was made easier by the fact that I'd be starting from the big smoke having watched my Dad's native Monaghan beat the Dubs on Saturday evening - as an aside, thanks to everyone for the texts and screen-grabs after I was captured on TG4's cameras in Croke Park at halftime! 

THE LAST POINT: LEAGUE IS THE GAA’S PROBLEM CHILD

By my reckoning, I've just three counties left to tick off on my personal Leitrim list - Derry,  the mighty Kingdom and Kilkenny! Kilkenny looks a long shot at this stage with the Cats no longer fielding an inter county football team and even when they did do, games take place in Freshford rather than UPMC Nowlan Park although I did get the chance to visit the famed hurling venue last year when Dublin and Kildare clashed in the All-Ireland SFC. 

Kerry is another that remains off the list - I've been to Tralee for Dublin League matches and even worked there for a while before joining the Observer  but the only time Leitrim have taken on Kerry in the League, they did it in Kenagh in Longford  after Pairc Sean was flooded way back in 2002.

Strangely, Derry  remains on the to-do-list - the counties haven't met that often down through the years but recently, Leitrim and Derry have had a few tilts in the League but with a sister publication in the Oak Leaf county and former colleague Philip Rooney covering the famous draw between the counties to open the 2020 League campaign, Celtic Park is the only Ulster venue I've yet to take in.

There are few anomalies in the list too - I've made the  journey to Armagh twice for Leitrim games but never to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh City. Crossmaglen and Carrickcruppen, two venues never to be forgotten as one features British Army helicopters flying in and about the place while the other saw Joe Kernan's side hand us a hammering in the  small but immensely proud Carrickcruppen outside Camlough.

Donegal is another where we haven't been too often with the 1992 meeting in Ballyshannon when the newly crowned All-Ireland champions ran rings around PJ Carroll's side and locals revelled in the fact that legendary full-back Matt Gallagher ran the show without once kicking the ball! But Ballybofey and Letterkenny remain off my list.

Some counties like Louth, Mayo and Galway have two or three venues they used to rotate about and while I've seen a Leitrim team play in Navan's Páirc Tailteann, it was against Kildare! I've even seen Leitrim play League football against the Dubs in both Croke Park (1995) and Parnell Park (1999).

So the journey to Fraher Field was an illuminating one, a lovely venue with a warm welcome but Leitrim fans vastly outnumbered the small but intensely dedicated Deise football community - they haven't a lot to shout about right now but the diehards turned out to cheer on their county despite players opting out for the year while the lure of the small ball game decimated the squad for new manager Paul Shankey before a ball was even kicked in anger.

Leitrim fans think we have it tough but Waterford's long suffering football community face the very real prospect year in, year out, of not winning a game. Every now and then, there is a breakout just as in 2010 when they shocked the Green & Gold in Ballinamore on their way to promotion  but more often than not, they've made a habit of derailing the promotion campaigns of others just like they did back in 2014 when Sean Hagan's team lost out on promotion thanks to a five point loss in Dungarvan.

It wasn't hard to detect an air of resignation  in Waterford - the locals spoke warmly of Leitrim, visiting Carrick for games and couldn't do enough for the diehard Green & Gold contingent but underneath it all, you sensed they weren't expecting much in 2024.

If the football community in Waterford is struggling on the field right now, off the field, they put quite a few to shame. When Fraher Field comes up in conversation,  you tend to frequently hear about the gale force wind that blows right down the field (and it certainly blew last Sunday) but you don't hear too much about the excellent facilities and wonderful playing surface at the Dungarvan venue.

Walking on the pitch after the game, it was firmer than many a pitch in Leitrim might be even in Summer and  a covered stand, maybe 13 or 14 rows deep, running the full  length of the field offered ample cover from the elements. To top it all off, six huge sets of match grade floodlights, turned on in the gloom last Sunday afternoon, elevating  the venue above many I've visited with the Green & Gold.

THE LAST POINT: LESSONS FROM THE DOME

The journey home left a lot of time to ponder what I witnessed but even after all that, it's hard to know what to read into the contest. Leitrim were everything you'd want them to be - disciplined and aggressive in the tackle, they're moving the ball much quicker into Darragh Rooney and even when Waterford clogged up the attacking lines, patient play saw Andy Moran's side probe and probe until the opportunity presented itself for scores.

Shane Quinn landed his trademark worldies, three defenders got on the scoresheet, Ryan O'Rourke looked lively without getting on the scoresheet, and three players in Jamie McGrail, Jack Foley and Cathal McHugh made their league debuts, so quite a lot in the plus column.

The caveat to all that, of course, is Waterford are a shadow of the side who troubled Leitrim in the past. New boss Paul Shankey was only appointed in early November so it is fair to say they're well behind the eight-ball when it comes to preparation time and if the locals are to be believed, they are without up to a dozen players who'd be first choice.

Worryingly, Waterford created quite a few goal chances and up against better teams, that's the sort of thing that could cost Leitrim. To give the benefit of the doubt, some of that could be down to complacency creeping in as the Green & Gold were visibly superior to the home side and sometimes it is hard to keep the foot on the gas.

No doubt, Andy Moran will use those goal chances  as a stick to beat his players with this week in training but the simple fact remains that Leitrim did what they had to do and they did it very well. We all know there are harder challenges ahead, starting with London next Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada (remember the earlier 1 pm throw-in time) but Sunday's victory was a good promising start for Leitrim  all the same.