Goals do the trick as Leitrim hold off Sligo with ease

The cliche 'goals win games' got quite a bit of use over the weekend but nowhere was it more evident than in Ballinamore last Sunday as Leitrim's ability to find the net against Sligo proved the decisive factor in the Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 clash.

After losing to the Yeats women in last year's League, Leitrim were in no mood to allow their neighbours repeat the feat but it wasn't until Muireann Devaney produced a moment of quick thinking, palming a long ball down to Kate Gormley before getting the return to blast to the net, that Leitrim began to take control of the contest.

The scoreline tells of a comfortable 12 point victory for the Green & Gold but within that bald figure is some conundrums - Leitrim missed a host of scoreable points in the first half when the game was still close and Sligo certainly had enough possession to cause alarm for Leitrim spectators.

Yet there was never a sense that Leitrim were truly in any danger - their workrate around the middle sector of the field, constant harrying of the Sligo players and fierce defence meant that the visitors were never afforded the time they needed on the ball to truly trouble their hosts.

But they did create two goals almost out of nothing, something Jonny Garrity and his management team will no doubt examine closely when they look back on the game film but, overall, they will be extremely happy with where they are right now.

PRESTIGIOUS PLAYER OF THE MONTH AWARD FOR LEITRIM'S KATE GORMLEY

It helps that you have a forward line as potent as Leitrim - Devaney was as much creator as scorer on the day with Ailbhe Clancy showing a real poacher's touch for her two goals and Dearbhaile Beirne finishing nicely just before the break.

Beirne's goal, two minutes before the halftime whistle, came hot on the heels of Ailbhe Clancy's first goal and those two goals transformed a nervous one point lead for Leitrim into a commanding eight point advantage at the break, leaving Sligo with a mountain to climb.

Nobody in the Leitrim camp will need telling that a lot of work remains to be done but after wins against potential promotion rivals Longford, Offaly and Sligo, Jonny Garrity's troops are within sight of securing a place in the semi-finals before the League is half finished.

The Leitrim team that defeated Sligo last Sunday in Ballinamore Picture: Terry Williams

Kilkenny and Wicklow, both without a win after three games, are Leitrim's next two opponents before the Green & Gold face Derry. The League ends with a home game against Carlow, the only other unbeaten side in the Division, with the Barrowsiders' victories coming against Sligo, Wicklow and Kilkenny.

It leaves Leitrim in a strong position to secure a semi-final spot and allow them to concentrate fully on finally ending their stay in Division 4 which has plagued them in recent years.

Leitrim opened the scoring after a minute, Michelle Guckian converting a free but Sligo quickly responded when Nisha McDonagh hit a high shot over the bar on the turn. It looked as if Leitrim would hit an early goal when Laura O’Dowd burst through on goal but Sligo keeper Ellen Maguire easily gathered the shot.

A great five woman move ended with Aoife Gilmartin firing over on five minutes but the Yeats women were giving as good as they got, Cora Gilligan scoring a well worked point before Ciara Walsh fired over from distance to put the visitors in front on 11 minutes. Almost straight away, Sligo won a free and dissent saw the ball moved in with Leah Duffy tapping over.

Leitrim weren’t just finding their range, O’Dowd and Guckian both missing chances but the game turned on its head after 16 minutes when Muireann Devaney cleverly flicked a long ball down to Kate Gormley and got the return pass to blast to the net, the score followed by a Michelle Guckian free after a foul on Devaney.

However, it was not all rosy for Leitrim as, despite dominating the battle for possession in the middle of the park, they hit four wides, had a shot blocked and dropped two fifties short with Sligo responding with a fine long range Rachel McGoldrick point on 22 minutes, cutting Leitrim’s lead back to one.

But the game took a wicked turn when Leitrim pounced for two goals in the space of a minute - Ailbhe Clancy drove to the net after a one-two with Gormley and from the subsequent kickout, Leitrim turned over possession and Laura O’Dowd found the raiding Dearbhaile Beirne for a relatively straightforward goal.

Gormley added a point before halftime as Leitrim led 3-4 to 0-5 at the break and the St Joseph’s woman quickly went about adding to her tally, scoring two points inside the first two minutes as Leitrim went quickly and direct.

Leitrim’s pressure on the Sligo kickout told when a defender failed to gather a relatively simple kickout, Gormley’s pass finding Clancy for a long range shot past a helpless Maguire in the Leitrim goal.

But Sligo showed they were not to be underestimated as halftime sub Anna McDaniel beat two defenders along the endline a minute later and cracked home a great shot to the net Leitrim net.

With both teams starting to run in sub, the game became disjointed with sub Leah Fox earning an unwanted distinction of earning a yellow card for an off-the-ball clash with a Sligo player before she had even touched the ball.

But any hope Sligo may have had of using their player advantage to force their way back into the game was quickly shattered as Muireann Devaney gathered a long ball, broke through a few defenders and blasted to the Sligo net, the Glencar Manor woman adding a free three minutes later.

Credit Sligo, they refused to lie down and when Leitrim failed to deal with a long ball into the goalmouth, Denise McGrath produced a composed and precise finish for their second goal.

The game, more or less, petered out after that - Leitrim would add three points from subs Vivienne Egan, Fox and Shaylyn Ward with Sligo hitting two from Aife Haran and Duffy (free). Both the last two points came courtesy of three man breaches, Leitrim having earlier escaped a pretty blatant breach despite Sligo players’ loud appeals.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Muireann Devaney 2-1, 1f; Ailbhe Clancy 2-0; Kate Gormley 0-3; Dearbhaile Beirne 1-0; Michelle Guckian 0-2, 2f; Aoife Gilmartin, Vivienne Egan, Shaylyn Ward (f) & Leah Fox 0-1 each

Team: Martina Gallagher, Jasmine Maye, Charlene Tyrell, Niamh Morahan, Dearbhaile Beirne, Lauren Devaney, Rachel McIntyre, Niamh Tighe, Anna Devaney, Aoife Gilmartin, Ailbhe Clancy, Michelle Guckian, Muireann Devaney, Kate Gormley, Laura O’Dowd. Subs: Vivienne Egan; Leah Fox, Sarah Reynolds, Emma Guckian, Chloe Dolan, Siomha Quinn, Shaylyn Ward, Shannen O’Rourke, Caoimhe Canning, Roisin McGloin

SLIGO

Scorers: Denise McGrath & Anna McDaniel 1-0 each; Leah Duffy 0-2, 2f; Ciara Walsh, Rachel McGoldrick, Nisha McDonagh, Cora Gilligan & Aife Haran 0-1 each

Team: E. Maguire, H. Gilligan, C. Dunne, A. Durcan, T. Breheny, C. Walsh, R. McGoldrick, N. McDonagh, S. Cunney, C. King, D. McGrath, S. Feeney, L. Duffy, C. Gilligan, L Normanly. Subs: A McDaniel, J. Gabbidon, B. Lavin, A. Haran, C. Gorman & E. Cawley 

Referee: Henri Clifford (Mayo)