THE LAST POINT: A chance to make a statement

This column was going to have the heading “Two into one won't go” as the ludicrous clash of Leitrim's Mens and Ladies teams next Sunday grows ever more absurd with each passing day. But then, I mused, maybe we should be approaching this weekend in a positive frame of mind as both teams have a chance to make a serious statement.

Now, I can't let the clash of the Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 Final in Birr and the Connacht SFC game in Markievicz Park pass without comment. To be honest, I was sort of resigned to the entire affair - when the fixtures had been made back in 2025, long before Jonny Garrity's side had booked their place in the League decider, I had jokingly mentioned the possible clash to LGFA officials!

But you've got to accept that there will be clashes - had one of the games been held on Saturday, it would have clashed with the Hurler's Lory Meagher outing against Monaghan and the governing bodies are entitled to stand their ground when it comes to making their fixtures.

All well and good until I then read last week that the Division 3 Final between Antrim and Louth, down in the sacrosanct fixture LGFA fixture list for the Sunday, is now taking place next Saturday while Leitrim and Carlow, both of whom have their Senior Men's teams in action on the same day, are the only two counties to see their game clash directly.

Integration won't magically solve all the problems that afflict the scheduling of games but for the love of God, a little common sense and consideration should have seen the Leitrim and Carlow game moved to avoid a clash, particularly if you can move the Division 3 Final to a different day  - if you want to grow the game, don't put it head to head with both counties men's teams in championship action!

THE LAST POINT: BLESSED RELIEF AFTER A NERVOUS DAY

Rant over for the time being and back to matters on the field and what could be a real chance for both the Mens and Ladies team to make a huge statement - a win over Sligo for Steven Poacher's squad would be an unbelievable lift after an up and down League campaign that tested the mental fortitude of players, management and supporters to the nth degree. And nothing lifts a county like a championship win.

If we're being honest, we haven't had a good record against Sligo in recent years, not at Senior, U20 and Minor level - the odd victory at underage in recent years has been enormously welcome. Sligo are a county that Leitrim considered themselves the equal of but they have moved a good bit clear of us in recent years and that is mainly due to the work being done by the Yeatsmen at underage level.

Leitrim have started that process in recent years, long years of work with underage squads beginning to bear fruit, and are becoming far more competitive with the Men in Black & White but Sligo still somehow manage to eek out the wins, the latest evidence coming when the U20s got hit by a sucker punch of a goal in added time, the 1-11 to 0-12 leaving the small Leitrim travelling support in Tubbercurry hollow after the gut punch.

Sligo have that ability and the fact that they've had a year in Division 3, as tough as it was for them as they just avoided relegation on the final day, will stand to them - you only had to the watch the Division 3 & 4 League Final double header from Croke Park recently to see the difference in pace, execution and accuracy.

For all that and home advantage too, Leitrim are in the ideal position to pull off a championship ambush - when they've been good, they've been very good and facing Sligo in Markievicz won't phase them one little bit. Sligo know that too and they are forewarned but the Green & Gold  have shown great bouncebackability this year and nothing would surprise me.

Barry McNulty is central to all and Sligo are sure to put a man marker on him so his teammates need to find ways to use that to their advantage. But it is a quirk that when nobody expects them to produce something out of the ordinary, Leitrim do just that. Sligo are rightly favourites, they know they are in for a battle but the games between these two foes have been tight over recent years and getting tighter - anything can and often does happen!

Off then to Birr and the Ladies where they occupy the unusual position that many have them down as favourites despite the fact that Carlow finished top of the table and beat them in the final group game of the campaign while Leitrim also needed extra-time to get the better of a dogged Sligo. But that favourite status might be down to Leitrim's famed ability to rise to the occasion.

One would hope that the shackles, more mental than physical, come off this Leitrim team - when they find their groove, they are an unstoppable force with scores coming from everywhere and an ability to gather irresistible momentum.

I'd imagine that Jonny Garrity would have much preferred to hold Kate Gormley and Ailbhe Clancy in reserve for longer than he did against Sligo, the duo instrumental in Leitrim's victory in Elphin but it also demonstrates the awesome strength in depth at his disposal right now. Two years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine Leitrim winning if Michelle Guckian, Vivienne Egan, Leah Fox, Rachel McIntyre and Niamh Tighe were withdrawn from action.

But there are notes of caution - Leitrim's last two games haven't been overly convincing, a two point loss at home against a Carlow team who gave squad players a run for the first 40 plus minutes of their 2-7 to 0-11 victory and a hard fought slog to get past Sligo in the semi-final, a Sligo team they had battered in the League phase but one that could consider themselves desperately unlucky not to have won in Elphin.

Interestingly, both Carlow and Sligo adopted a more cautious attacking plan - slow, almost ponderous attacks were the order of the day, possession the key component as both transferred the ball over and back, back and over before striking for scores. It was a new departure for a Leitrim team who have become masters as inviting teams to smash themselves on the rocks of their tigerish defence, inviting them into cul de sacs where the ball is turned over and lightning attacks are launched.

Will Carlow adopt the same approach next Sunday in Birr? They did, to an unprecedented degree, when playing against the wind in Pairc Sean at the start of March but how much of that was dictated by the weather conditions and the fact they weren't near full strength on the day?

THE LAST POINT: IT REALLY IS THE HOPE THAT KILLS YOU!

So who is the pressure on? Carlow have got to feel, with a bit of justification, that they have the tools to do the job after their victory in Carrick and they won't be holding anything back this time. That ramps up the pressure on a team and Leitrim absolutely love the idea of being underdogs - it underpinned the run to the Mary Quinn Cup two years ago and feeling like underdogs is a powerful tool for any coach.

You've also got to account for the emotional impact of the extra-time victory over Sligo - it mightn't have been pretty but a win like that does absolute wonders for a team, morale wise, and Leitrim will be buzzing as they travel down to Birr next Sunday while Carlow have to deal with expectations, justified or not, that come with a comfortable semi-final win.

Both sides are physical, reveling in the new rules the LGFA adopted, so expect a tough battle where players will have to win the right to express themselves. No more than the Men's team in Markievicz Park, I can see the Ladies winning and, if they really cut loose, winning comfortably but I'm extremely wary of the threat this very good Carlow team pose.

All I know right now is that both Leitrim teams are more than capable of victory next Sunday but they both face teams with exactly the same qualities. Two wins would set them up brilliantly for the rest of the Summer, a real statement of intent!