Harnessing the underdog mentality

If ever a team gave the perfect demonstration of how to harness the underdogs mentality, it was Leitrim last Sunday as they almost staged what would have been the big shock of the opening round of the TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Intermediate Championship.

Division 3 champions, former finalists and 2016 All-Ireland champions Kildare rolled into town last Sunday with an expectation that they would blow Leitrim out of the water. And there were times when the Lilywhites lived up to their billing, dominating possession, seemingly picking off scores at will and holding onto the ball for extended periods of time without too much trouble.

Yet Leitrim almost sprung the classic championship ambush, something Kildare would have been wary about, when in the space of two quick fire attacks, they reduced a five point lead down to a solitary point with less than five minutes to go, the crowd going wild and the Leinster side had already emptied their bench in anticipation of an expected win.

Sense isn't so common after all

THE LAST POINT

For the championship ambush to happen, you've to rely on a few things but chief among them is that you've got to play out of your skin and you hope that the opposition have an off-day. Taking every chance that comes your way is another must, proving the pundits wrong another while playing with a manic intensity goes without saying - and a little bit of luck wouldn't go amiss either.

Looking at that list, Jonny Garrity's side ticked every box - they lived on the edge at times, thankful that the accuracy issues that plagues Kildare's men teams also seems to be a trait of their Ladies team but Leitrim's application, intensity and ability to strike for goals at crucial moments almost led to another historic underdogs  victory.

The one part that didn't go to plan was Kildare having an off-day. Diane O'Hora's side were full of impressive forwards, powerful runners and defenders who got out in front of the ball and what's more, they played with an organisation and tactical flexibility that Leitrim wouldn't have come up against too often, an ability to switch gears that meant whenever Leitrim threatened, Kildare always had an instantaneous reaction.

I don't know if Kildare were playing within themselves for most of the second half, it certainly seemed that way as they were content to keep possession well away from a massed Leitrim defence, content in the knowledge that they weren't going to risk turning over the ball and that Garrity's charges couldn't score if they didn't have the ball.

It is not pretty football, I'll admit, and it's not popular - unless you are winning. Chatting to Dessie McHugh, a dedicated supporter of the ladies game from Ballinamore, he was incensed at the negativity of the tactic and I wouldn't blame him but it's within the rules and until the rules are altered, what we witnessed last Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada and in grounds the length and breadth of the country is here to stay because it works, there is no doubt it works - even if it bores us all to death.

Maybe we all are the problem

THE LAST POINT

What would irritate me if I was a Kildare fan was the lethal response the Lilywhites produced any time Leitrim threatened - twice they went straight down the field after a Leitrim goal and planted the ball in the net within seconds and a third time, they cracked the ball off the Leitrim crossbar. That indicates, at least to me, a team with incredible attacking potential that can turn it on and off seemingly at will!

For all that, Leitrim are right to take positives from Sunday's defeat. Intensity, will, adherence to the tactical plan and fitness was all evident but there is one potential pitfall ahead of next Sunday's must win clash against Louth off on the far reaches of the Cooley peninsula and that is if they read too much into their performance.

They're dead right to believe after their display last Sunday but Leitrim won't have quite the same underdogs status against a Louth team they know well. That  status is a powerful tool - there is a freedom in it and mentally the burden is lighter so it is no surprise that every manager I've ever talked to ahead of a big game, with one or two rare exceptions, is  anxious to anoint his opposition as favourites.

I'm sure Louth will have  had spies over watching Sunday's game and while they aren't the force that Kildare are, they are the only team to have beaten the Lilywhites in 2023 - that Kildare kicked 15 wides and Louth won 1-5 to 0-7 in a low scoring game in February is neither here nor there, Louth possess a different sort of a threat and that puts a bit of  pressure is on Jonny Garrity's side.

Time to get back on the horse

THE LAST POINT

Reacting to raised expectations is not easy and the Green & Gold face a very different tactical situation next Sunday as you'd think that Louth surely will adopt the massed defence that served Leitrim well against Kildare. The big danger is thinking that last Sunday's encouraging display will automatically carry over to Cooley but my gut says that as long as Leitrim retain that underdog mentality, they have the quality to overcome those dangers and march on to the quarter-finals.