Garrity wants Leitrim to get back on track against Roscommon in Connacht decider

Roscommon may be the opponents next Sunday in the TG4 Connacht Intermediate Final in Kiltoom but Jonny Garrity is looking for a bit of payback after a disappointing end to Leitrim’s League campaign.

Roscommon ended Leitrim’s dreams of a three-in-a-row last year when they prevailed 2-13 to 1-7 in Kiltoom but it is more recent times that Garrity is focusing on as the Leitrim manager wants his team to get their Lidl Division 4 Semi-Final loss at the hands of Limerick out of their system.

“We’re delighted to be in the position that we can get that semi-final out of our system,” said Garrity, “We want to be ultimately playing against good teams and Roscommon are certainly one of those. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Last year’s Final loss is also a reference point with the Leitrim manager feeling that he and his management team have learned a lot from the experience in 2023 while also highlighting the quality in the Roscommon ranks: “I think last year, it was our sixth or seventh game as a management, it was one of those experiences where we were learning on our feet about our players and about the opposition. 

“We won’t be just as green this year but in saying that, full credit to Roscommon, a really good team and I’m sure they’ve got real aspirations after Connacht is out of the way when it comes to the All-Ireland so we will be in good company.”

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The prize of silverware is obviously something both teams will want along with a better seeding for the TG4 All-Ireland series but Garrity is curious to see what he learns about his players in the cauldron of a Final: “It is something of a stand alone game but any opportunity you’ve got, especially when there is silverware up for grabs, you learn a lot about your own players and who can do a job for you when the pressure is on. 

“We’ll be looking forward to seeing that and seeing how they react from the disappointment of the national league. Roscommon will provide a really, really good level of opposition for us and it is brilliant to see who can sink or swim in that environment.”

That derby environment means that both teams are well aware of the threat posed by each other: “It is a local derby and you have got players who have grown up playing against each other and players who would probably have a lot of respect for each other. There are no secrets from Roscommon and we have no secrets from them so it does tend to be on the day and on any given day, whichever team shows up will go a long way to winning it.”

Kiltoom hosts the game for the second year in a row as part of a double header with the Senior Final, intriguingly first on at 2 pm next Sunday and while the Leitrim boss would prefer to see his team enjoy home advantage, he sees no problem in travelling to Roscommon’s heartland!

Leitrim manager Jonny Garrity pictured with captain Michelle Guckian at the launch of the TG4 Connacht IFC Final

“If we were being picky, we could say that we were there last year and maybe it was our turn but no, it is a double header, you want to promote the game. Hopefully there will be plenty of fans there to watch but we’re looking at the game, even more specifically at our approach and what we put forward. The venue is where it is.

“Being the second game is different but it is one of those things, an extra consideration for us to try and ignore it and put our focus where it should be. Maybe there might be a few more in for it but either way, we will be looking forwards our own performance.”

Leitrim do have injury concerns with Lidl Division 4 Team of the Year member Leah Fox facing a battle to be fit for Sunday: “Leah Fox would be the major worry at this point, Leah’s knee isn’t responding well so the likelihood of her playing any part would probably be quiet slim.

“But we’ve got loads of others who will be aching to take Leah’s place and as we saw against Sligo, we’ve got more than enough players to go and do that. So we’re looking forward to seeing them in action.”

In fact, Leitrim travel in a confident mood despite the gulf in League standings between the teams: “We’re confident and again that is no reflection on Roscommon but we’re confident we see these girls at training and we know what talented footballers we’ve got. The key is to put it into a performance and we’re very confident that we can do this on Sunday and let’s see how it works out.”

As they proved last year, Roscommon will be difficult opposition - they narrowly lost the Lidl Division 3 Final to Clare, one of the favourites for this year's All-Ireland Intermediate crown, and actually dropped just two points in their campaign when they drew with the Banner women in round three.

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Interestingly, they beat Wexford by five points in their campaign, a Wexford team who got the better of Leitrim in the championship last year while they had a point to spare against an Antrim team who inflicted a heavy Division 4 Final on the Green & Gold in 2023. They also showed in more than a few games an ability to come through tight contests and they will relish another crack at Leitrim.

Once again, Leitrim will look to their forwards to deliver - the potential absence of Leah Fox would be a big blow but in Michelle Guckian, Ailbhe Clancy and Muireann Devaney, Leitrim have the firepower to succeed. You can't read too much into the facile 7-20 to 0-7 win over Sligo, nor Roscommon's 4-14 to 3-11 win over the Yeatswomen last Friday as they without quite a few players who were attending the Team of the League awards ceremony.

Playing a higher ranked Roscommon team hasn't stopped Leitrim in the past, in fact they revel in it and that will be the same next Sunday. This genuinely could go either way, nothing would surprise you in a rivalry where nothing can be taken for granted.