THE LAST POINT: A tale of twists and slips

The best laid plans of mice and men may come from an 18th century poem by Scottish poet Robert Burns but never have seven words been more apt than to describe last Sunday's drawn Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final, a thrilling game that ended with an equally thrilling denouement.

As much as I love a dramatic ending, I could have done without a draw, remarking to colleague Eoin Gallagher, with some dread about ten minutes from the end, that the clash between champions Mohill and Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins was going to end in a draw. I'm not complaining about witnessing another instalment in this epic rivalry but truth be told, I could have done without the replay.

The sense of anti-climax among fans from both camps, liberally sprinkled with confusion over whether there would be extra-time or not, was nothing compared to how both teams were feeling but, credit to them, they immediately went to their coping mechanism, drawing tight into team huddles to drive home the message that there would be another day, another opportunity to win it all.

My dread was all about how was I going to cope this  weekend as a Men's Senior Final replay was thrust in among the Gotham DryWall LGFA Senior & Junior Finals, the Smith Monumentals IFC and Fresh Today Junior A Finals - not to mention of a couple of Newtowngore Engineering U17  Finals so right now, I'm wondering where I get the time, let alone the space, to cover all these Finals!

Contrary to public belief, and my own delusions, we're not omnipotent in the Observer and we haven't managed the art of bi or tri-location quite yet - it would come in handy this weekend so unfortunately, some events will  fall by the wayside,  simply because we're not the New York Times and our resources are finite.

THE LAST POINT: A REAL CLASH OF THE DYNASTIES IN CONNACHT GOLD LEITRIM SFC FINAL

A Senior Final tends to eclipse all else and that's a tremendous pity because I was eagerly looking forward to the clash of Glencar Manorhamilton and St Joseph's in the Ladies Senior Final, not to mention the intriguing battle that is in prospect when Allen Gaels and Melvin Gaels face off in the Intermediate decider and the conundrum that is the Junior clash of Eslin and Bornacoola. All those clubs deserve their moment in the spotlight but there is simply no denying that a Men's Senior Final is the showpiece  game in this county.  

If there is anyone who knows the dilemma we're facing, it is Vincent O'Rourke and his CCC committee who, in the minutes after Sunday's draw before the players and match officials had even left the field, was being besieged by questions from all and sundry, myself included. Trying to juggle all the considerations that go into finding venues, referees and avoiding the knock-on effects to other grades is a thankless task and one I wouldn't want.

Yet all of this angst might have been avoided but for one or two slips - we usually speak of moments of magic but on Sunday, it was two moments that the participants involved won't recall very fondly that defined the Final. Everyone makes mistakes but sometimes it doesn't even have to be a mistake, just a slight misjudgment and hey presto, history changes.

For all the wonderful football that they did produce, Ballinamore's most important score was their luckiest when Wayne McKeon's almost trademarked long range raking pass caught out Padraig Tighe in the Mohill goal completely - maybe the Ballinamore captain was aiming for goal, most likely he testing out the belief that the Mohill netminder is vulnerable to a high ball and boy did it work.

Tighe did what players in every game ever played did - he came for a ball and misjudged its flight, perhaps the wind caught it more than intended and in the opening minutes of the game, few players had time to adjust to the conditions. It was simple as that, more a slip than a mistake but in a game as tight as Sunday's Final, it was almost the defining score. 

Ironically Mohill's equaliser came from an almost identical situation - Domhnaill Flynn left fly from distance into the danger area, he was definitely going for an equaliser but when you look back on the TG4 footage, it was only then that you realise that Ballinamore keeper Darren Maxwell was very nearly across his own goal-line when punching the ball clear.

Some have wondered should Matthew Murphy have gone for goal but again, the angle behind the goal gave an indication of just how little time the Mohill sub had, Ballinamore's cornerback Paddy Connaughton steaming in like a train and Maxwell closing him down so the fisted point was absolutely the right option.

But none of that would have happened without another slip, this time quite literally - sub Andrew Burns was steaming through the Mohill defence but an ill-timed slip saw him tumble to the ground, the ball turned over and Mohill had one last chance which, and you've got to give them enormous credit here, they took with both hands.

Had the unfortunate Burns, and there is no blame attached because players were slipping and sliding all day on the fantastic new surface in Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin, odds are that Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins would have been celebrating wildly around the town that night and Mohill's curse of failing to retain their title would have carried on into the future.

Two small incidents turned this game but there were plenty more. Some wonder why Wayne McKeon didn't go for it on the late free before the turnover, particularly after his wondrous free a few minutes early. But in this era of percentages and expected returns, holding onto possession and running down the clock was the smart play.

THE LAST POINT: YOU CAN'T BEAT AN INJURY TIME WINNER!

The slips didn't end there - Mohill went two up when the ball slipped from a Ballinamore player's grasp and was touched on the ground but from the next kickout, the very same happened to Mohill when they won the turnover, allowing Ballinamore to counter.

Could Mohill have had a first half penalty? My reading of the rule is that denying a goal scoring chance inside the 21 yard line, regardless of where it occurs inside that line, merits a spotkick so if Enda Egan had pointed to the penalty spot when Liam Ferguson pulled back Evan Harkin, I'd have had no problems with that. Equally, I've no problem with the Fenagh official exercising his judgement in not awarding a spot kick and in fairness, Egan did an excellent job and played his part in an enthralling final.

While we're handing out bouquets, it would be remiss of me not to compliment the Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins club for the wonderful job they did in organising the entire event, from parking to traffic management, the presentation to the pitch to the way fans were catered for, the host club did a superb job and deserve the highest of praise.

Not an easy job organising stewards and volunteers to have the place spick-and-span for the big day and when you throw in the complication that your own team is playing for the title and finding volunteers may be that little bit harder. I know from talking to a few friends who watched the game on TG4 and they had the height of praise for the venue and how it looked on the day and I'm sure they'll rise to the challenge of the replay once more on Saturday, and indeed the Intermediate Final next Sunday too!l