Bumps on the long road

Nothing like a long road trip to get random thoughts wafting through your head - the miles, or kilometres for the younger generation, fly by as your mind takes you to different places, so much so that sometimes you get a bit of a start when you realise that you're much further along the road than you thought you were.

Sunday was such a day as I headed down to the sunny south east for Leitrim's clash with Wexford in the stupendous Chadwicks Wexford Park. Normally I'd have the loquacious Willie Donnellan in the passenger's seat beside me and anyone who has shared a journey with the great man  knows that any journey is shortened by his stories, debates and laughs.

Unfortunately, Willie was back home in Leitrim for the weekend, busy taking care of the Observer's photographic coverage at a multitude of events that has me wondering where he gets the time. That left me on my own for the trip and that meant my music on the Iphone and RTE Radio's Sports Sunday were my companions all the way back home to Leitrim.

Wexford hit late burst to consign Leitrim to first League defeat

WEXFORD 0-19 LEITRIM 0-15

First of all, before I get to the match, I've got to say we're on the hind tit here in the north west when it comes to transport infrastructure! It was my first time on the newly extended motorway down the eastern coast and what used to be a tortuous experience going through Gorey and Enniscorthy and a host of small villages is now a breeze.

That the new motorway stops just the far side of Enniscorthy is mystifying as I'd have thought a motorway down to a port as important as Rosslare would have been a no-brainer but then what do I know - although the locals did tell me plans are underway to rectify that oversight.

The contrast with endless lines and lines of single-file traffic north of Mullingar on the way home left me feeling very much like a second class citizen and while there is a population imbalance between east and west, north west and south east, if you want people to live and work in these regions, maybe the powers that be might want to consider treating us with a bit of respect.

What's all this got to do with what transpired in Chadwicks Wexford Park you ask? In a long winded way of getting to the point,  that word respect comes into it because the vibe I got from the surprisingly large Leitrim travelling support was that everyone expected a victory and not much respect was put on Wexford's footballers.

For a county dominated by hurling, I've always felt that when Wexford get their act together with the big ball, they are comfortably a Division 2, top of Division 3 team and maybe a lot of Leitrim folk don't see that. I was worried heading down to Wexford about Sunday's game because what the Model County always produce is big, athletic and talented footballers who can play ball.

That's what we saw Sunday in Wexford Park - Leitrim didn't play badly, by any means, and I'd go so far to say that Keith Beirne gave his best display  in this year's League. Certainly the lads sitting beside me from the Wexford stats team couldn't get over the wonder of some of Beirne's scores and that was the universal feeling all around Wexford Park, Leitrim and home supporters alike! 

Wexford hit late burst to consign Leitrim to first League defeat

WEXFORD 0-19 LEITRIM 0-15

But, just like travelling on the N4 north of Mullingar, Sunday was a bump in Leitrim's Division 4 road, one that caught many by surprise but, and all present in Wexford Park agreed, Wexford were just that little bit better on the day. 

Wexford's physicality and pace caused Andy Moran's side huge problems, they dominated the middle of the park and were it not for a succession of turnovers and mistakes from the Wexford attack, this game might not have been as close as it turned out to be with Leitrim's last four points of the first half coming directly from the home side coughing up what looked like comfortably  safe possession.

Much of that is down to superb Leitrim organisation and a squad well drilled by their management team in what to do and how to do it. It is a point I've made more than once over the years - Leitrim may be a Division 4 team but they approach the League with all the intent, organisation and planning of a Division 1 side.

Defeat last Sunday doesn't negate all that  and oftentimes, just like last Sunday, that structure and their superb tackling technique leads to scores and opportunities they mightn't get against a similar organised and well drilled outfit.

Leitrim had Wexford on the rack for a time in the second half, so much so that I could only see a win for Andy Moran's team  - five unanswered points caused the home side to wobble almost uncontrollably as they coughed up possession aimlessly, ran into blind alleys and looked like a team bereft of confidence.

But as  Leitrim teams have found over the years, if you dig in, keep doing the right things, maybe you can create your own luck and turn things around as Niall Hughes did by breaking a tackle out on the wing and surging through for a crucial score that ignited Wexford's fightback.

At the end, playing against the wind, Leitrim's legs gave in as the failure to build on the advantage of the strong wind in the first half came back to haunt the visitors, Wexford reeling off five points in the closing minutes to seal a victory that left Leitrim's supporters demoralised. 

That's understandable but Wexford are a decent team and Sunday only reinforced the battle Leitrim face to get out of Division 4. Maybe we're all guilty of  focusing on Laois and Sligo  and forgetting Wexford and Carlow, both unlucky last year against the Green & Gold, while  Wicklow  have always caused Leitrim quite a deal of bother.

One loss, while damaging, is not the end of the world - while I have nothing more than a feeling to back this up, it is hard not to shake the notion that this League will not be straightforward, teams will take unexpected wins and equally unexpected losses and there is quite a good deal of football yet to be played.

Tributes pour in as Drumshanbo's Ronan Moran laid to rest

There was  a real sense that the Leitrim contingent in Wexford Park, be they players, management, supporters or media, were taken aback by what we witnessed but Leitrim can't afford to let that feeling linger, they've got to get back on the horse right away if they want to keep their League dream alive. 

That's a message that Leitrim Ladies are probably sounding right now - they didn't lose down in the intriguingly named Bog Garden in Rathkeale but given how they've been going and their past record against Limerick, dropping points for the first time this year in their 1-18 to 4-9 draw must have almost felt like a defeat.

Hard not to escape that conclusion, especially when you consider Leitrim were eight points up with ten minutes to go yet they needed to scramble with two late points to ensure a draw against an unbeaten Limerick who will undoubtedly qualify for the semi-finals with their final game against Derry on March 5.

If I were Jonny Garrity, I'd be emphasising two things right now - Leitrim were hit with a late scoring burst that almost certainly sinks most teams but Leitrim didn't lose, they dug in and forced the draw! That's huge as it demonstrates resilience and self-belief and that is priceless.

Point 2 is equally important as Sunday's game was Leitrim's first real test of the year - they'll know now that the cakewalks of the Derry and Kilkenny games are a distant memory and if the Ladies want to get out of this Division, they've got to dig in and dig deep because there  are always bumps in the road, no matter how good it is!