Battling Leitrim restore hope as they test off-colour Mayo to the limit

It may be premature to call it a rebirth but after a troubled season, on and off the pitch, Leitrim footballers reminded everyone in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada on Saturday, their own supporters included, what they can do when they have something approaching a full deck to choose from.

You’d have been hard pressed to know who had won Saturday’s Connacht SFC Semi-Final if you were judging the reactions following the final whistle - Leitrim fans were all grins, happy and buoyant while the large Mayo contingent were far from happy at what they had witnessed and all this after a seven point win for Kevin McStay’s team.

But considering what Leitrim had gone through and what many of us feared might happen on Saturday after a litany of heavy defeats in the League, this was something of a rebirth as a renewed Leitrim battling with a ferocity, an intelligence and an organisation that hints of much more to come if they can get a full hand to choose from.

It may seem bizarre to be so positive but anyone who have watched the trials Steven Poacher’s team have endured in 2025 will recognise this was a major statement - they played with a focus that has eluded them so far this year and executed a game plan that frustrated Mayo increasingly as the game went on.

Perhaps the fact that Leitrim were such outsiders played into their hands, perhaps Mayo had one eye on a Connacht Final as they were strangely lethargic but maybe it was something more simple - Leitrim had Barry McNulty back on the field.

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The Glencar Manorhamilton was not just an easy choice for Man of the Match, he was an unanimous one and it was clear that his presence lifted his teammates to new heights. His long range kicking was superb but it was his physicality that allowed Leitrim to disrupt the Mayo kickout and win possession that was most striking.

That was something Leitrim have suffered from since the first League game in Ennis when McNulty wowed the Cusack Park crowd and it was no different here as Mayo simply had no answer to the Leitrim talisman.

In fairness, this was not a one-man show and the return of Donal Casey and Cillian McGloin is incalculable. The Melvin Gaels man saw some few minutes in the final games of the League, Casey hasn’t kicked a ball in anger since last year’s Division 4 Final but both added enormous physical presence.

Keith Keegan was a wonderful foil to the exploits of McNulty in the middle of the field - the Mohill man ran himself into the ground but he did enormous work in keeping Leitrim in contention for the first 50 minutes of a tight contest.

Darren Cox left Leitrim supporters with their hearts in their mouths on more than one occasion as it looked as if the Annaduff man was about to get flattened but his ability to retain the ball and evade challenges meant he was a huge part of a defiant Leitrim display.

Truth be told and considering what they had gone through so far in 2025, it seems churlish not to give every single one of the Leitrim players huge kudos for what they produced against Mayo, a team we all expected to grind Leitrim into dust.

Credit Steven Poacher and his management team for the game plan they devised to thwart and frustrate Mayo - they've had a rough, rough time of it over the past few months but their confidence in their vision for this Leitrim team must surely be renewed after what the Green & Gold players delivered on Saturday on Pairc Sean's fantastic new playing surface.

Expectations may rise for the Tailteann Cup but that is no bad thing - more game time for Leitrim’s walking wounded (Ben Guckian and Paul Honeyman carrying knocks going into the game) will only bring them on and the flood of positivity from Leitrim fans can only benefit Poacher’s team going forward.

The Leitrim team who faced Mayo in the Connacht SFC Semi-Final on Saturday Picture: Sportsfile

Leitrim had the first shot in anger as Darren Cox broke through the Mayo cover but then seemed to get caught in two minds, the result a weak shot easily gathered by Mayo keeper Colm Reape. Mayo went up the field and Matthew Ruane fired over in what looked like ominous acres of space.

Cox hit a second wide but after Riordan O’Rourke and Keith Keegan combined, the Annaduff youngster fired over a great high shot. Ben Guckian kicked wide but referee Niall Cullen was playing advantage and Barry McNulty thumped over a massive two point to put Leitrim a point to the good after eight minutes.

Mayo won a free two minutes later, dissent saw the ball moved in and Ryan O’Donoghue tapped over. Aidan O’Shea blasted a goal chance wide but just like Leitrim’s early effort, advantage for a mark saw play brought back and the Breaffy man slotted the ball over the bar.

Mayo went back in front when they put together a great move finished by O’Donoghue but another monster McNulty two point free put the home side one in front after 19 minutes. Mayo were getting frustrated but two points in the space of a minute from Darren McHale and Jack Carney after good moves restored their lead.

McNulty left a free a few feet short, Reape gathering the ball but a foul on a charging Mark Diffley allowed the Glenar Manorhamilton man to convert a third free after 28 minutes, chances few and far between in a cagey contest.

Leitrim had one of their few sniffs of a goal from the kickout, Ben Guckian turned the ball over and got the ball to Tom Prior but under pressure, the Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins clubman hit a bad wide, O’Donoghue hitting a wide at the other end for Mayo.

One of the few Mayo goal chances came three minutes before the break when keeper Daire O’Shea came out to claim a high ball, it split in the challenge but Eanna McNamara stretched out his leg to divert it out for a fifty that was converted by Reape.

O’Donoghue converted another free after a James Rooney foul but Leitrim finished on a high, McNulty making a great catch before releasing Tom Prior. The wing-forward then found Darren Cox who swept a lovely effort from the corner over the Mayo bar to leave Leitrim trailing 0-8 to 0-7 at the break.

With Leitrim fans almost giddy from excitement at halftime, the only fear being expressed was would the Green & Gold be able to stay with the immensely powerful Mayo and that question as answered very quickly, O’Donoghue’s first minute point quickly answered by a lovely McNulty point from the scoreboard corner.

Jordan Flynn opened up a two point gap, a foul on McNulty after a mark saw the free brought forward and Riordan O’Rourke converted but O’Donoghue was starting to show his class, dodging through to score after just six minutes.

Tom Prior showed it was a trick he could emulate, cutting between two defenders before blasting over the bar under pressure but for the first time in the game, Mayo began to flex their muscles as they hit five unanswered points in an 11 minute spell, O’Donoghue converting a free to get them going.

Stephen Coen, O’Donoghue (free), Paul Towey and Jack Carney all added points, Towey barely on the field but adding quite a bit of impetus to the moribund Mayo attack. Leitrim, however, were not going to lie down -a  short 50 routine gave Barry McNulty a bit of room and he landed a massive two pointer from play on 58 minutes.

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Towey and Tom Prior swapped two excellent points from play but Mayo always seemed to have an answer, Jordan Flynn finishing a well worked move. Prior’s score, with just over nine minutes of regulation time left, was Leitrim’s last of the game but it wasn’t for the want of trying with McNulty seeing a free batted out and Jack Foley having a shot blocked.

Mayo were also creating chances but not taking them and the game ended in a bit of aggro not at keeping with the game when Leitrim’s Cillian McGloin and Mayo’s David McBrien were both black carded after a bout of handbags in injury time, O’Donoghue converting his fifth free of the game.

O’Donoghue still had time for one more point, bringing his tally to nine for the day and one of the few Mayo players to earn approval for his performance from a far from happy travelling Mayo support.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Barry McNulty 0-8, 5f, 1 2pt; Tom Prior & Darren Cox 0-2 each; Riordan O’Rourke 0-1, 1f

Team: Daire O'Shea, Kieran Clancy, Donal Casey, Eanna McNamara, James Rooney, Mark Diffley, Jack Foley, Barry McNulty, Cillian McGloin, Jack Flynn, Keith Keegan, Ben Guckian Darren Cox, Riordan O'Rourke, Tom Prior. Subs: Joe McGloin for Flynn (blood 46); Paddy Keane for Guckian (54), Paul Honeyman for Keegan (62); Tom Hughes for Casey (68); J McGloin for Keane (71)

MAYO

Scorers: Ryan O’Donoghue 0-9, 5f; Paul Towey, Jack Carney & Jordan Flynn 0-2 each; Stephen Coen, Colm Reape (50), Aidan O’Shea (M) & Darren McHale 0-1 each

Team: Colm Reape, Jack Coyne, Donnacha McHugh, Enda Hession, Sam Callinan, David McBrien, Stephen Coen, Jack Carney, Matthew Ruane, Davitt Neary, Darren McHale, Jordan Flynn, Aidan O’Shea, Dylan Thornton, Ryan O’Donoghue. Subs: Diarmuid O'Connor, Niall Coggins, Eoghan McLoughlin for Callinan, Neary, Ruane (HT); Paul Towey for McHale (52); Shairroze Akram for Coggins (70)

Referee: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh)