Leitrim make a statement to please Garrity in first game of the Lidl LGFA League

Jonny Garrity professed himself happy with the manner in which Leitrim went about securing a very comfortable 6-17 to 2-10 victory over Longford last Sunday in the opening round of the Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 campaign.

“For us, it was about ourselves,” Jonny told the Observer, adding “It was about closing out the noise and putting in the kind of performance that we wanted to and making the statement we wanted to and I think we've did that today.”

The Leitrim boss had sympathy for a Longford team who only had one training session before Sunday’s game: “We would empathise with them and they showed real glimpses of what a good team they are. I've no doubt they'll get stronger over the League and I wouldn't rule them out of the top four by any stretch.”

For Garrity, felt Kate Gormley’s performance was no surprise! “With respect to Kate, we knew she was a county player long before she was a county player and we always knew that she was going to be very compatible with her style of play. We're  delighted to finally get her in and it's great to see her hitting the ground running and she's certainly not the only one.

 “There were great performances  from Aoibhin McGoldrick and Niamh Morahan in the back line and Martina Gallagher in goals showed what she's about. The new players have integrated into the team  really well and there are others  that haven't been given game time today that will do so it's all very exciting.”

REPORT: IMPRESSIVE LEITRIM RUN UP BIG SCORE FOR COMFORTABLE WIN OVER LONGFORD

Garrity had the luxury of bringing on players of the calibre of Michelle Guckian, Ailbhe Clancy and Muireann Devaney and he admits he has a selection headache ahead! “The hardest thing is trying to select a starting team because there's so many girls putting their hand up but that's a problem you want. 

“Michelle was  in Australia for a few weeks over Christmas and only for that she'd probably have been starting but she's had a really good pre-season, she's got herself moving well and with the ball in hand, there's very few players as good.

“The game flowed through her really well and the same can be said for Ailbhe for that matter. And, of course, Muireann, her first touch a goal and the thing about that is, it's not even a surprise, such quality.”

The new rules in Ladies football didn’t make much of an impression: “I think I've seen a mark from Emma Guckian who had a brilliant match and we've seen a few solos and go's. Apart from that, we didn't see a big difference. Even with respect to the added physicality, that wasn't evident at all.”

Garrity gave kudos for the use of unlimited subs: “I don't agree with every rule the LGFA conceives but this one I think is brilliant because you can ensure that girls are getting a reward for the work they're putting in. It can be very demoralising if you've been through a long, hard pre-season and you're not getting game time at the end of it.”

Offaly are next up on Sunday  and Jonny is taking nothing for granted: “Any team that's relegated from the season before, they're accustomed to playing at a higher level. They've got really good individual ability and probably not in the best place, as you'd imagine, coming down after a double relegation. 

“But they'll be looking to bounce back and it'll be a tough, tough encounter. They'll be looking to get promoted at the first opportunity and it'll be a tough game.”