WORDS CAN'T CAPTURE THE SHOCK

Shocking. Historic. Bizarre. Devastated. Stunning. Embarrassing. Mortifying. Exhilarating. Traumatic. Mystifying. Disgraceful - one or all of the above words could sum up the reaction  to Leitrim losing out in New York but  all the words in the Oxford English Dictionary aren't anyway near  enough to describe what those with the Green & Gold in their heart are going through right now.

That's not exactly a proud admission for someone employed to dispense words in some semblance of order and coherence but even now, four days after New York's historic penalty shootout victory over Leitrim in Gaelic Park, their first ever in the Connacht Championship, I'm struggling to find the words to aptly describe what I'm feeling.

I had thought of writing a few words on Leitrim Ladies and their quest for glory next Sunday in the Lidl LGFA Division 4 Final in Parnell Park (good luck by the way) but there is no getting away from the fact that one story dominates the thoughts of Leitrim GAA folk at this particular moment.

Anger dominates social media reaction to Leitrim's Connacht SFC exit at hands of New York

Like thousands of Leitrim folk back home, I logged onto GAAGo to follow an epic encounter that swung like a proverbial pendulum, a game Leitrim looked on the cusp of winning at least three times over the course of normal time and extra-time before succumbing in what must surely rank as the most tired and bizarre penalty shootout we've ever witnessed.

There's a temptation to call down hellfire and damnation on players, management, county board officials, clubs, supporters, media, Croke Park  - basically  anyone and everyone that moves as the hurt of this defeat will take a long time to heal.

Sleep eluded me; when I eventually got to bed after writing up a report, my heart rate racing as all I could think about was how Willie Donnellan and the thousands of Green & Gold fans in Gaelic Park were feeling, the reality of defeat sunk in and the dread knowledge of the tsunami of abuse and ridicule that was about to descend on the Leitrim players and management.  

Think I'm being over sensitive? I joined the Observer in 1990 and they were still talking about the ignominy of losing to London 13 years earlier. The status as the only home-based team to lose in Ruislip was lifted 20 years ago but just as Leitrim lost that particular distinction when Sligo fell in the English capital, London then beat us in the Connacht Semi-Final and we're still talking about the fallout of that game 10 years later.

That is more than a little unfair to New York - the Stateside exiles were immensely conditioned, had a towering physical presence in Gavin O'Brien and Johnny Glynn that Leitrim struggled to cope with and fought with a wild eyed, fierce commitment that often keeps you in  a game you shouldn't, and they had the steely nerves to come through the penalty shootout.

If some are criticising New York's tactical approach to the game, it was no different to the tactics Roscommon deployed in downing the Mayo giant in Castlebar - they worked to their strengths and it paid off there and it paid off in The Bronx.

Of all the criticism, only one truly rings true and it was that Leitrim's finishing let them down on the day and with even a marginal improvement in accuracy, we wouldn't be having these conversations. I'm not saying that Andy Moran shouldn't be questioned and players can't be criticised but my initial reaction in the early hours of Sunday morning was that Leitrim kicked it away and that belief is rooted ever more deeply as the days pass by.

A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

THE LAST POINT

We can debate tactical decisions all we want, bemoan the new inter county season scheduling that gave a promotion chasing Leitrim no real chance to work out on astroturf (a much bigger factor  than many can suspect) or even lament the ludicrous situation that saw   Kerry’s Gavin O'Brien, Galway’s Eoghan Kerin & Tipperary's Bill Maher transfer into New York during March - imagine what Leitrim might have done with O'Brien, Kerin or Maher in their ranks?

I'm not even going to analyse the penalty shootout because neither team could deal with the aching legs and crushing pressure after more than 90 minutes of non-stop action and penalties are a lottery.

No, the one inescapable fact is that Leitrim had this game for the winning, creating - by my count at least - nine situations where a goal was possible. Some of those ended in rather unceremonious fouls but seven resulted in shots that were saved, blocked or hit wide.

The excellent GAA Statsman twitter account detailed 21 misses for Leitrim which is defined as wides, balls going out for fifties, hitting the post, saves or efforts falling short compared to just 11 for New York and that, Ladies and Gentlemen, was the winning the losing of the game!

How do you account for that? Keith Beirne's flick was inches away from coming off but keeper Mick Cunningham plucked the ball from the air in a Man of the Match display as the former Down keeper also made superb one on one saves from Beirne & Oisin McLoughlin. 

Eoghan Kerin, perhaps savouring a little revenge for Leitrim's shock 2014 U21 win over then All-Ireland champions Galway, bundled Beirne off the ball in another chance while immense pressure put paid to efforts of Jack Heslin, Paul Keaney and Paddy Maguire, the sort of pressure you'd love to see your team apply and the basis of any successful outing.

Was it psychological? Did the pressure get to the Green & Gold? With an estimated 3,000 fans flying across the Atlantic for the game, there was a crushing weight bearing down on Andy Moran's side and conversely, the longer the game went on without Leitrim putting their opponents to the sword, the more New York grew in defiant belief.

I defy anyone that claims Leitrim weren't fit or committed enough - players literally ran themselves into the ground, not one yielded an inch and knowing the stakes, they fought as if their lives depended on it and but for their errant finishing, we'd be contemplating another rematch with Sligo on Saturday week.

Meatloaf is wrong - two out of three IS bad!

THE LAST POINT

The cramp epidemic that assaulted Leitrim late in the game was nothing more than the result of a game played at a frightening pace on a lightning quick surface on a bitterly cold night - cramping up  was not only not a surprise but it was to be expected. 

I guarantee you nobody is hurting more  than those in the Leitrim camp and if there are questions to be asked, and certainly everybody has a right to ask those questions, I honestly can't fault the efforts of the Leitrim players last Saturday night.

As much as it hurts all those with Leitrim in their heart, we've got to congratulate New York. The bedlam that followed Mikey Brosnan's winning penalty evoked memories of 1994 and Leitrim's wild celebrations and as much as it hurts, real GAA fans won't begrudge them their historic moment in the sun.

For Leitrim, now is the time to batten down the hatches, look into their hearts and see what is in there. If they have half the resolve and pride I believe they have, they're going through a rough time right now but if they harness that anger and pain - a pain that may never ease if we're being honest - there is no reason why they can't redeem themselves in five weeks time in the Tailteann Cup.