Hunger & intensity drove Leitrim Gaels to maiden title says Ryan Jones

It may have been their first ever Connacht Gold Leitrim SFC Final but Leitrim Gaels certainly did play like newbees, a fact Ryan Jones put down to the incredible hunger and intensity the new champions brought to the clash in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada last Sunday, writes John Connolly.

“First time in anything sometimes can be tricky, but I thought we steadied ourselves into the game really well,” Ryan told the Observer, “There was probably a slight breeze, and the scoring goals they tell me is down this end towards the scoreboard, so for us to go in at halftime, I think it was 7-7, we felt we were in a really good place.

“That first time occasion was  gone and it was about us really stepping on, but I'm not surprised that we started well because when you've done the work and you get up to that intensity, you just keep going and keep going, and you could tell the boys were really hungry.”

That intensity was best illustrated in the midfield battle where Ryan played a pivotal role in turning the tide the way of the Gaels: “Every time we thought we were kicking on, they maybe got back in with a free or maybe like a two-pointer, and then we just had to keep going again. 

"But in Championship finals, it's the dirty ball around the middle that is important, and I thought we were getting our hands on the breaking ball and kick outs, which was giving us momentum to keep driving on. I'm not surprised by how strong we finished because the boys have put in an immense  effort, and I knew the conditioning was there.”

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In fact, Ryan admitted he was confident before the final due to all the work the Gaels had done: “Being honest, we were confident coming into the game. We've worked really hard all year, since probably October this time last year, we started to knuckle down, get into the gym.

“We knew that Ballinamore were going to keep coming at us but we also felt if we take the game into the last 10 or 15 minutes, we're not going to let up. I don't know when we eventually pulled away, but I think it was probably the last 10 or 15 minutes we just kept coming and kept coming and eventually pushed on.”

You would have had to be blind and deaf not to see and hear talk about the Jones brothers in the lead-up to the final but Ryan, a reluctant interviewee who preferred the spotlight went to his teammates, admitted to blocking the outside noise out while stressing that the Gaels’ victory was a team effort: “There was a lot of noise, but our big focus was, don't get distracted. I'm not on social media myself, but obviously you have people sending you things. 

“Again with the articles in the media, people would send them on but for us, it was about keeping focused and having belief in our own ability but also the other boys, it was all about them as well. You've seen the Jamie Rynns, I'm not even going to go through all the players, but those boys really stepped up today too. 

“I do think Conall and Garvan played a really good game, but from 1 to 15, we were all there, even the boys that came off the bench, they all added a bit.”

Ryan’s position as a selector with Steven Poacher’s senior team meant he was familiar with Leitrim football but this was his first time in the thick of it and the former Fermanagh midfielder was impressed with the standard he encountered: “I thought the standard was really good. You can maybe tell me if the standard was higher this year, but I thought once the Championship got going, there were a lot of teams that you knew were going to be there or thereabouts and it is a really good standard. 

“Obviously Ballinamore, they're a top team with some serious threats. You lose a final last year, for them to come back and get to another final, that just shows how hungry they were. But when you're in a final, it's always going to be fine margins and probably that's what it was, the last 10 minutes we just kept on.”

As for the celebrations, Ryan smiles as he said “They're going to celebrate, I'd say for a long time, we mightn't see anything for a month!”