THE LAST POINT: It really is the hope that kills you!

Driving home from Netwatch Cullen Park, the thought leapt unbidden to my mind that Andy Dufresne wasn’t a Leitrim fan when he opined  “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things”. I'm usually all for positivity but I can't help but think that  Andy never endured an Allianz League campaign with Leitrim because the hope  is killing me!

You'll know by now that I love my movie references and anyone that has ever watched legendary The Shawshank Redemption will instantly recognise the quote, one of a litany of uplifting and inspiring moments. Certainly, Shawshank is the sort of feelgood movie that no matter when it is on  TV, no matter how long is gone in the movie, you become engrossed in it and whatever your mood, you can't help but feel better after watching it.

But right now, I'm in full agreement with another Shawshank quote, when Red, played brilliantly by Morgan Freeman in one of his signature roles, tells Andy “Hope is a dangerous thing” when he tries to keep his friend grounded in the reality of their situation.

It is why I'm getting ever more trepidatious the closer we get to next Sunday's Lidl NFL Division 4 Semi-Final and none of my creeping unease is rooted in reason or reality, more the fear that no matter how good Jonny Garrity's Ladies squad are going, something terrible will happen in Orchard Park Elphin next Sunday and promotion will again slip through Leitrim's fingers.

I've nothing concrete to base that fear on - the Ladies, bar one slip against an impressive Carlow, have cut a path through this year's League with the clear demeanour of a team determined to right past wrongs and finally escape the league's basement division. All that lends almost near certainty to the belief that Leitrim will be too strong for Sligo but we said the same two years ago when Limerick were the supposed sacrificial victims and we all know what happened. 

So forgive me if my trepidation is competing pretty strongly with my natural optimism and hope.

I've always been curious as to the psychological element of sport and what makes teams tick. How will the Ladies approach Sunday's semi-final? Will they embrace the pressure of attempting to smash their promotion hoodoo of recent years or will Sligo come in like a black and white guerilla army, smashing once more Leitrim's hopes and dreams. 

The more one talks about a fear, I believe you actually empower it all the more? I know that in some circles that team lifestyle coaches or team psychologists are frowned upon but, no more than the Dubs pre-2011 or Mayo of the last 20 years, until Leitrim Ladies break through their promotion barrier, breaking that promotion hoodoo will  continue to define a generation of Leitrim footballers.

For what it's worth, Leitrim Ladies look a different proposition in 2026 and I firmly believe they will get the verdict against Sligo next Sunday but, in all honesty, that doesn't mean diddly squat until the final whistle sounds and they've smashed the barrier that has been erected over the past six or seven years.

If the conundrum of the Ladies' struggles in recent years takes some working out, I just don't know where to begin with the Senior Men's team and what occurred down in Netwatch Cullen Park last Sunday as Leitrim went from boom to bust quicker than it takes Donald Trump to tweet these days!

Even now, three days later, I don't know how to find words to describe what we witnessed and even fewer to explain how Leitrim went from bossing the game for the first 12 minutes to being reduced to spectators for the rest of the game. That sounds harsh, and I wouldn't be inclined to throw shade at any player committed enough to don the county colours, but the paltry few Leitrim supporters who made the journey to Carlow were left thoroughly bewildered.

It was the second time over the weekend that myself and Willie Donnellan were left almost speechless on a journey home from a Leitrim game. Friday's Connacht Minor clash with Galway in Tuam was every bit as demoralising and not even a late scoring blitz from the Green & Gold could obscure the fact that Galway were simply operating on a different level.

Some mitigation is needed as it was blindingly obvious that this young  Leitrim squad were nervous and Galway, quicker out of the blocks, were eager and, more importantly, able to exploit growing unease in the Green & Gold ranks. Yet even then, with Galway dominant, it took a moment of bad luck just before halftime to kill off Leitrim's hopes when a fisted ball came off the woodwork, evaded two Leitrim defenders and fell right to a Galway forward for a tap-in.

Young players are far more susceptible to momentum swings in games and these young Leitrim lads are capable of much more. But Friday's game starkly illustrated how games can change almost with a puff of wind or a ball coming back off the woodwork at just the wrong angle for the defenders.

Figuring out what changed in Netwatch Cullen Park will take a far greater mind than mine - one moment, Leitrim were cruising and looking as if they would dash Carlow's promotion hopes. Then, with dreadful, almost ponderous, ease, the home side reeled off 10 unanswered points in gaelic football's version of Chinese water torture, a slow drip of misery for Leitrim fans and players.

The transformation was mystifying - Carlow opted to leave Barry McNulty almost unmarked for the first 15 minutes, allowing him roam around unmarked and the Glencar Manorhamilton man and Keith Keegan feasted on kickouts from both ends, the Mohill man bringing off a series of soaring catches that ended with Leitrim players breaking with a speed that you almost thought they were competing  at the World Indoors in Poland.

Carlow hadn't a clue how to handle the Leitrim press and Leitrim's defence was tackling with a bite and aggression that the home side found impossible to cope with. If anything, it looked as if Leitrim's form from the victory over Longford was being carried into Netwatch Cullen Park, the Green & Gold doing what their manager asked and putting in a performance to build on for the clash with Sligo on April 12.

What changed? I haven't a clue but suddenly, Carlow were getting their kickoffs away and they were weaving their patterns through the Leitrim defence, landing scores that fed their burgeoning self belief and  confidence. By the end, the game almost resembled a challenge game as Carlow did as they wanted with impunity.

The question, and Steven Poacher wasn't one to shy from it himself with some fairly strong words, is how could a team that performed as it did against Longford, a Longford team who beat Carlow by five points, be transformed into an outfit completely at sixes and sevens with itself? Was the focus shifted too soon to Markievicz Park? I don't know but the game had eerie echoes of what Leitrim endured against Antrim and Tipperary.

Right now Leitrim are locked in a seeming spiral of good display, bad display and again, one wonders if the psychological element is the deciding factor here? Unfancied to trouble Longford, Leitrim produced a wonderful display but tipped to cause problems for a Carlow side who started very nervously themselves, things just imploded. 

I was pretty hopeful that Leitrim had turned a corner after the Longford performance but after Carlow, I don't know where we stand. If we can answer that, we'd all be very wise and hope wouldn't be such a fearful thing!