McNulty believes Leitrim didn't themselves justice against Roscommon in Connacht U20 showdown

Sometimes there is no disguising the deep hurt a championship defeat can bring and in fairness, Barry McNulty didn’t try after Leitrim’s 3-16 to 2-6 Eirgrid Connacht U20 FC defeat at the hands of Roscommon but the Glencar Manorhamilton star insisted there is a bright future for the Green & Gold players.

Speaking with Ray Lannon after the game, Barry said “Look, it is a very disappointing end after a really, really positive campaign, probably didn’t do ourselves justice there. Roscommon outclassed us physically, probably that wee bit ahead of us in ball playing skills, they’re a top quality side.

“They haven’t lost a game yet in the competition, they were the better team on the day but just disappointed we didn’t put in the performance that I know we can.”

The ebb and flow of games can often change in an instant and the fact that Roscommon landed two quick goals before halftime left Leitrim chasing the game: “They’re very solid defensively so with that seven point lead, you knew you were going to have to claw it back and it was going to be tough but that’s U20 football.

“Things can happen very quickly, heads can drop for a minute or two and the next thing two goals go in and you’re just chasing the game. We were chasing the game, we got joy out of it once or twice, we got a goal and a couple of scores but they just came down, we left ourselves exposed at the back and they’ve top quality forwards like Nugent and when you’re exposed at the back, what can you do?”

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Leitrim could have got the ball in quicker to their forwards but Roscommon’s defensive shape stymied the home side according to Barry: “It was tough, they were well set up. They had their defensive shape set up and with the wind, the ball probably carried a wee bit at times and we were a wee bit slow getting it in. When it came in, there were men around you and you had nowhere to turn.”

Despite all that, Barry does see a lot of positives for Leitrim going forward: “I know the result didn’t go our way today but there are lots of positives for Leitrim football I suppose. If you had told us coming into this campaign that we would beat Mayo and should have beaten Sligo, we would have taken your hand off. 

“But when you get to that level and know that you can play there, it is disappointing to know that we didn’t play at that level today.”

And the Glencar Manorhamilton man insisted Leitrim will go all out in the Connacht B Final as Leitrim face Mayo for the Philly McGuinness Cup: “In all fairness to Connacht GAA and the GAA in general, the B competition there gives you something to play for, I think there is an All-Ireland Semi-Final if you go on and win that. 

“We won’t be just going in there to make up the numbers, we’ll be going in there with something to do and we want to bring a title home to Leitrim, no matter what it is and push on.”