Performing on the day is what matters to Aidan Flynn & Leitrim Gaels

With a wave of excitement flowing all over Leitrim Gaels, it might be easy to forget that there is a Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final to be played next Sunday in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada. But not Aidan Flynn, the Leitrim Gaels captain stressing that, first and foremost, there is a game of football to be played and hopefully won!

Chatting with the Observer after the semi-final victory over Mohill, we asked Aidan how would the Gaels cope with the hype before next Sunday’s Final and, as always, Aidan was fairly straightforward in his reply - “I don't know …. we've never played in a senior final before so we'll have to see what happens. 

“I think you try your best not to get distracted by these sorts of things and try to focus on the game of football because it all comes down to the game of football at the end of it. There's a lot of shouting and roaring and stuff like that that goes on around it but it all comes down to a game of football.

“So whoever we’re playing, we’ll be looking at them and they'll be looking at us, I'm sure, and whatever team performs on the day is going to win it so there's not really much point getting too worked up over what goes on around it.”

Yet the Leitrim Gaels captain is the first to admit what appearing in a first ever Senior Final means for his club: “It means the world to us - we've worked very hard this year and it's just great to have the semi-final won and to be looking forward to that final in two weeks' time.

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“We've had a couple of quarter-final and semi-final losses over the years so just to get over the line in the semi-final against a brilliant Mohill team is really great and we're looking forward to that final now in two weeks' time.”

Getting over Mohill in an extraordinary semi-final where the defending champions were kept scoreless in the first half was a big stepping stone for the Gaels but Aidan doesn’t read too much into that first half display: “We knew at halftime it was a false scoreline because it was freakish conditions to be honest. 

“I think that was proven in the second half the way Mohill came back at us. They're a fantastic team, fantastic club. They've been in the last five county finals so they were always going to come back and they did come back strong. We were delighted to be ahead but we knew we weren't going to have it all our own way against the wind in the second half.”

Controlling the game against the wind and denying Mohill two pointers was the plan in the second half: “The message at halftime was to continue to play the football that we played in the first half. 

“Obviously a bit of control came into it as well but we know the great kickers they have in their team so that was a huge message for us at halftime, trying not to concede two-point opportunities to Mohill.”

As for Sunday’s opponents, Aidan knows the Gaels are in for a tough battle: “They've played fantastic football this year, Ballinamore and Fenagh and they're blessed with really, really good footballers. Whoever it is, they’re going to be mad to win it.”

No talk of Leitrim Gaels is possible these days without mention of the impact of the Jones brothers but Aidan doesn’t pay much attention to the talk swirling around: “It doesn't affect us, to be honest., we're just playing our game. It takes a panel of 40 lads and the brilliant coaching that we've had within our club this year. Everyone else can talk. I suppose it's all noise, everyone has an opinion.”

But Aidan is quick to highlight the impact of the Jones brothers on the field: “They're great lads, first and foremost and they're great friends to have around the place. All three lads have maybe shown some of the younger lads within the team what it takes to play senior football really well. They've been brilliant additions to our club and we're delighted to have them.

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“Ryan is involved in coaching us and I know he's coaching with the county. To have a fella on the field that's actually playing and coaching at the same time is something I've never experienced before and it's brilliant, to be honest with you. It's an incredible advantage to have a coach on the field at the same time and Ryan has been huge in improving the standards around the club.”

As for a prediction for next Sunday's Final, Aidan said “I think we're a confident group but Ballinamore are a  confident team, full of really classy players as well so they're going to come in pretty sure they're going to win it as well - look, it is whatever team performs best on the day.”