THE LAST POINT: A blip or a warning for Ladies?

They tell us all good things must  come to an end but I'm sure if you asked Jonny Garrity and his Leitrim Ladies squad after last Sunday's loss to Carlow, the last thing they wanted was to see was their unbeaten run come to an end in the Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 campaign, right at a time when the stakes are getting really high.

First of all, Carlow deserved their 2-7 to 0-11 triumph over the Green & Gold and in doing so, they may actually have done Leitrim an enormous favour ahead of a winner takes all semi-final clash with Sligo on Sunday March 29. There were warning signs in Derry but right now, the light is flashing red and that may just be to the long term benefit of the county senior ladies.

We may have said it at the start of the campaign but the only thing, and I stress the only thing, that matters right now is Leitrim defeating Sligo to finally end their seven year exile in Division 4. It is a measure of the class of this Leitrim squad that they've achieved so much from the basement division, an All-Ireland title and a plethora of Connacht crowns, but getting out of Division 4 is an itch they desperately want to scratch.

The sojourn in Division 4 hasn't been easy - back in the days when only one team was promoted, Leitrim twice lost finals to Louth and Antrim, the wee county blitzing the Green & Gold during one of the Covid years in Clones before holding on for dear life in the closing stages - that game back in 2021 was the closest Leitrim have come to promotion.

Antrim inflicted a hammering on the Green & Gold in Parnell Park in 2023, the last time Leitrim have contested the final and that is important because, since then, the LGFA have decided it is two up, two down. Unfortunately the agony has shifted to semi-finals with Limerick and Antrim, again, breaking Leitrim hearts over the past two years.

THE LAST POINT: NOT A HAPPY FIRST IN CLONMEL

Now a tricky Sligo team, who Leitrim beat by 12 points earlier in this campaign but who inflicted a three point defeat on Leitrim 12 months ago, stand between Jonny Garrity's side and a long held dream of escaping Division 4 and if that isn't the ingredients of an ambush, I'm not sure what is!

Truth be told, I'm not sure what we learned last Sunday. Nobody I talked to before the game underestimated Carlow but after a strange and complicated game, we might not have a true picture of what both teams are capable of.

First up, Leitrim - they started without Kate Gormley due to injury and didn't see any action from Ailbhe Clancy and Laura O'Dowd so there is that to consider but a more or less full strength home side were surprisingly placid against the Barrowsiders, standing off the Carlow attackers as they held possession for long periods against the wind in the first half.

When I say long periods, that doesn't  do it justice as Carlow kept the ball for the guts of 12 minutes at the end of the first half with maybe four or five Leitrim touches in that spell. It wasn't that they were firing in shots from all angles or scoring like crazy, they registered just two shots, both wides, in that period.

Carlow were facing a strong  wind and decided to run down the clock - we'd do the same I expect - but it was incredible stuff to watch and not in a good way. As boredom set in, you could hear the crowd chatting with each other to pass the time but the surprising thing was Leitrim were content to allow Carlow to do it. Granted Leitrim had a six point lead at halftime but in any men's game, that sort of lead just wouldn't cut it if you had to defend against that wind in the second half.

Garrity's troops patrolled the 40 metre arc, not that Carlow were remotely interested, nor probably able with the wind, to shoot from that range. When Leitrim won the ball, they transitioned with speed and scores followed so I wonder if Garrity and the Leitrim brain trust were holding something back, keeping a little bit hidden for a potential meeting down the road?

The reason I ask is I wonder were Carlow playing the same game of holding something back? They made five changes to their starting team and stuck with their game plan of winding down the clock in the first half, executed with a grim and flawless perfection as they gave the impression they weren't too bothered.

That changed in the second half as  their demeanour shifted. A few of the first choice players were brought on and they attacked with far more verve and intent, leaving me  wondering exactly what they are truly capable of. Carlow have both the footballing ability and physical presence to make an impression - maybe that was the  point for as much as Carlow might wonder what Leitrim were up to, the same applies for Leitrim!

If there is one worrying aspect, it is that Garrity has always been one to  go all out for victory so the question is was last Sunday a blip, a one-off caused by the knowledge that all that matters is what happens on March 29? Or is it a troubling sign of a drop in form, coming after the struggles in Owenbeg a week before, albeit Leitrim were nowhere near full strength against Derry?

THE LAST POINT: WHEN A WIN IS MORE THAT JUST A WIN

Right now, any sort of definitive judgment is impossible - the high stakes of promotion colours all right now and a lacklustre display  against Carlow is very different to the pressure of a semi final. That's understandable if you go back two years ago when Leitrim and Fermanagh, with just  one loss and a draw between them, lost out on promotion.

Carlow and Limerick, both seven points behind Leitrim in the final standings that year,  won promotion as they ended up stunning two teams that went on to win their respective All-Ireland Intermediate and Junior titles later that Summer because right now, one game can change everything!

I imagine those memories are informing much of where Leitrim’s heads are right now and while that adds considerable pressure that will only build and build over the coming weeks, Jonny Garrity and his troops have this game written in stone for quite some time.

Aspects of Sunday’s defeat have me worried but  are we in danger of reading  too much into a game where so much shadow boxing was going on? Only time will tell but if Sunday's defeat spurs Leitrim to promotion, it will have been worth it in the long run.