THE LAST POINT: Not all progress is exactly linear

Curious experience last Sunday - there I am in the press box in Ballinamore's Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin, watching Leitrim comfortably hold Sligo at arms length in the Lidl LGFA National League all the while wondering exactly what was going on in Carrick-on-Shannon as news filtered through that the scores were level between Leitrim and Waterford!

It's not that I was a disinterested observer - with the way things were going in the first half, I had barely jotted down the details of Ailbhe Clancy's goal just before halftime and raised my head from the notebook when Dearbhaile Beirne was hammering home a third Leitrim goal of the first half so being distracted was a real risk if I wanted to keep track of the action.

But, just like everybody else these days, there is a compunction to know what exactly is going on, not only in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada but all over the country with Football and hurling league games going full belt on the first official day of Spring. The TV in the shop area had Kerry's mammoth clash with Donegal on so, naturally, eyes were drawn over to that corner.

Local radio and RTE provided updates from all over the country but in truth, the dreaded social media was the essential lifeline us sporting addicts clung to in our desperate need for information! Every now and then, I had furtive glances at what was going on in Castlebar as the Dubs suffered another loss while Tipperary's victory over Antrim and a fantastic London victory against Longford caused a lot of excited conversation - Leitrim's trip to Ruislip on Sunday week is looking tougher still.

But nothing stopped the conversation quite like hearing Waterford had struck two goals just before halftime against Leitrim in Pairc Sean - eight points up and looking in a different class, Steven Poacher's men were dominating a cautious and, by the reports relayed to me, a laboured and dogged encounter but all of a sudden, the game was up in a heap.

THE LAST POINT: SYSTEM OR FLAIR - WHAT MAKES A COACH?

Yet that consternation was nothing compared to my reaction later on when X informed me that  Waterford had drawn level - suddenly, the prospect of the Deise men inflicting a damaging loss on this young Leitrim team was raring its head instead of the thoughts of celebrating a first League win since a win March 2024.

Waterford have a penchant for bursting Leitrim's balloon - you don't need a long memory to recall Waterford beating Leitrim twice in Dungarvan and once in Ballinamore, once ending the promotion dreams of a Mickey Moran led team. So when you hear that the visitors had recovered from an eight point gap in the first half and a three point deficit in the second, I couldn't help but fret.

But that's where this Leitrim team made a stand - Waterford failed to score for the final quarter as Poacher's young warriors eased themselves to a victory that was perhaps harder earned than they would have liked but which, in the long run, might do them the world of good. The guts of two years without a League win is  a tough record to break so any win, particularly forged in adversity, is a win worth celebrating.

Adversity certainly raised its head - Mark Diffley and Eanna McNamara departed the game early with injuries while Tom Prior was ruled out of action before a ball was kicked. The Ballinamore man has been the attacking spark of this team in 2026 and with Barry McNulty, Darren Cox, Cillian McGloin and Paul Honeyman all still on the sidelines, losing Prior is a blow Leitrim can't afford.

The relief in Ballinamore when Leitrim's victory in Carrick was confirmed was palpable, again not that supporters weren't fully focused on the Ladies efforts but mainly because Jonny Garrity's troops were so much in command against a Sligo team that had lowered the Green & Gold colours last year in the League.

It wasn't, however, a victory without flaws - Leitrim were plagued by inaccuracy in their shooting for points. Perhaps there was a stronger wind out there than you'd expect but some of the misses had supporters groaning in the stands but, as has so often been the case in the past, Leitrim's goal scoring ability carried the day.

Truth be told, there probably wasn't as much between the teams as the 12 point margin suggests - yes, Leitrim were convincing winners but Sligo caused a hard tackling and ravenous Leitrim rearguard quite a lot of problems. The Yeatswomens' biggest downfall was they don't have a Muireann Devaney or a Kate Gormley in their ranks.

Muireann did as she always does; she led from the front, went straight for goal and was at the heart of everything Leitrim did well, albeit the new foil of Gormley proving exceptionally effective. The St Joseph's player had slipped seamlessly into the team and it is hard to imagine this Leitrim team without her, a new headache for Jonny Garrity particularly when you throw the names of Aoife Gilmartin, Ailbhe Clancy, Michelle Guckian, Laura O'Dowd, Emma Guckian, Vivienne Egan, Leah Fox and Siomha Quinn into the mix.

That's ten players who are all legitimate starters on almost every teams in the Intermediate championship but, in my untutored opinion, only three are locked in right now - Devaney, Gormley and the tireless Aoife Gilmartin who doesn't register the same high volume of scores as the other two but she links up everything else around her; so much so that I'd have Gilmartin down as an indispensable.

I don't get to see what Jonny Garrity sees in training but finding a balance in team selection is a  science and that  may be the hardest job the Leitrim boss will  have - it is not one I'd envy him but I imagine every team in the country would love to have that dilemma.

Right now, I'd say Leitrim have already guaranteed their semi final spot even with four games left to play - they face Kilkenny and Derry who  have struggled badly against Leitrim in the past and while Carlow and Wicklow will prove tougher challenges, they'll hold no fear for this Leitrim team.

The unspoken fear is not that they won't reach the semi-finals, it is that someone will produce the performance of a lifetime to end  the promotion dream at that point   - a fear that can be self-fulfilling because if you fear it might happen, you are increasing the likelihood that it will! But, hand on heart, Leitrim are in as good a place as I have seen them and while I'd still be a nervous nelly, logical me thinks this will finally be the year Leitrim escape Division 4.

THE LAST POINT: REFLECTIONS ON A STRANGE DAY IN AUGHRIM

Deliverance for Leitrim's hurlers will take a bit longer - a new look Green & Gold came up against a more seasoned Sligo last Saturday and put them to the pin of their collar - the eight point margin didn't reflect the closeness of the game but what it did illustrate was the dire necessity to increase the hurling imprint in the county.

Not too long ago, Sligo had, like Leitrim, two or three hurling clubs - now they have six different clubs represented in their county squad and  Easkey recently contested an  All-Ireland Club Final. It doesn't take an Einstein to work out that if you play more games all year round and have more teams, you'll have a better opportunity to improve your skills and your game.

Leitrim's two hurling clubs are doing amazing work, spreading the hurling gospel but imagine if the rest of the County got behind them and lived up to the ideals of the GAA and not just gaelic football? There are club footballers out there who, if they picked up a hurl, would love the game for its physicality, speed, skill and engagement - start with that, grow the game and you'll never know where it might lead!

All three Leitrim teams made progress of various degrees last weekend - it wasn't exactly straightforward or linear but it was progress nonetheless and that is a step in the right direction.