Not the best start but Leitrim kept going says Ailbhe Clancy

Leitrim’s refusal to give in was crucial in the County Ladies team snatching a dramatic victory over Tyrone last Sunday in Ballinamore according to top scorer Ailbhe Clancy who highlighted the resilience and positivity in the Green & Gold camp.

The Glencar Manorhamilton clubwoman scored 2-5 in the 4-12 to 5-8 victory over a Tyrone team headed for Division 1 in 2025, a fact Ailbhe believes shows the potential in this Leitrim team: “Tyrone are in Division 1 now so it is great to beat them and shows the level we are capable of playing at. 

“It just shows our mental strength, it is something we’ve worked on during the year. Even the last few weeks with injuries and different things going on, we’ve always kept going and stayed positive. It wasn’t the best start, going down seven or eight points and then again in the second half but I think it shows that we never give up.

“We will always keep going, just a credit to the girls and the management that we have that positivity and belief in us.”

That positivity was reflected in Ailbhe’s own display with a disallowed goal and a few missed frees not derailing her own performance: “I missed a few frees, hit one off the crossbar, had a goal disallowed, it wasn’t going great but I think you have to forget about those things and keep going. 

CHECK OUT WILLIE DONNELLAN'S FAN PHOTOS FROM LEITRIM LADIES CLASH WITH TYRONE

“You are always going to make mistakes but if you don’t go for it, go for the score, you’re not going to make the tackle or make the run - you have to back yourself and go for it.”

Wicklow are next up and while Leitrim will find it hard to be tagged as underdogs after Sunday’s victory, Ailbhe stresses the team must play each and every game as if they were underdogs: “We just have to keep going, it is about being consistent over the year and we’ll give Wicklow a good shot in two weeks time.

“Regardless of whether we are underdogs, we will play the way we want to play and we will be confident going up against any team in the Intermediate championship now. Just excited for the year ahead.”