THE LAST POINT: One shot is all it takes for Leitrim

The song may just be one of the most dangerous warm-up tunes in the whole world but, after watching Leitrim's TG4 LGFA All-Ireland SFC relegation semi-final battle with Mayo last Saturday in Tubbercurry, hard to avoid the notion that the opening lyrics of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself” might just the message the Green & Gold players need to hear!

The American rapper boasts an incredible catalogue of hits but I'm not sure if any has the power of the pulsating base that thunders through 'Lose Yourself', the theme song from the semi-biographical movie '8 Mile' but when it comes to getting yourself pumped up, 'Lose Yourself' is in a league of it's own and that it probably why it is so, so dangerous and so, so powerful.

In this day and age where controlled aggression is key to any sporting performance, I'm not sure if anyone listening to 'Lose Yourself' on the air-pods or headphones wouldn't run through a brick wall and into battle with all encompassing fire that might just see all your best laid plans go out the window in one burst of overwhelming energy - just you put it on as you start your exercise and watch as your heart rate climbs through the roof.

Yet the opening lines of Emimen's hit are relevant for Jonny Garrity's Leitrim squad as they face one last chance to save what has probably been a somewhat underwhelming season, a game where one victory will turn the immense disappointment of once again missing out on promotion in the League and the nagging regret of not finishing off Mayo the first day in the Connacht championship into a season of accomplishment.

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As the opening chords pound out, Eminem simply asks “Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity; To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment; Would you capture it or just let it slip?” - those simple lyrics frame a question that resonates right now with Leitrim's  Ladies team or indeed anyone who has ever laced a pair of boots or spikes, togged out for a seemingly impossible task.

I'd imagine Tipperary were thinking their chance had slipped them by on Sunday when they lost Darragh McCarthy to a second yellow card and Kilkenny roared into a two point lead with the clock ticking inexorably to what looked like another Cats triumph, a feeling exacerbated when Kilkenny's Paddy Deegan somehow escaped a second yellow shortly after  for a swipe at the helmet of a Tipp attacker only to see his colleague Mikey Carey punished instead.

Incidents like that often turn games completely but in this case, it seemed to release something in the Premier County that can often be described as resilience, spirit, courage, defiance but in purely Irish terms, the words 'pure thickness' probably best captures the essence of what Tipperary exemplified in those frantic and glorious closing minutes.

Jonny Garrity's troops are going to have to tap into something similar against Donegal - on paper, the Ulster women look to be struggling going  into the relegation final next Saturday, a ten point defeat to Armagh but this is a Donegal team who have appeared in every Ulster Senior Final since 2017 and have been regarded as one of the perennial heavyweights of the Ladies game in recent years.

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They finished mid-table in Division 2 season, hardly world beating given Leitrim defeated a Division 1 Tyrone in last year's Intermediate Final but there is devil in the details - all powerful Galway beat them 1-11 to 1-2 and Tipperary had just two points to spare over them in what was essentially a knock out contest.

Low-scoring and defensive, Donegal pose a very different threat to what Leitrim usually face although they had a little taste of it against Mayo, unusually defensive in the first half as  their nervousness betrayed them last Saturday by leaving some of their better attackers on the bench. It was only when they made changes in the second half that Mayo began to look more fluent and were it not for three last gasp saves from Michelle Guckian, it might have been a much tougher afternoon for the Green & Gold.

It is why last Saturday is so perplexing - I'm not being disingenuous when I say that it was a game that didn't feel as if there were seven points between the teams yet Leitrim could have suffered a trimming had Mayo being that bit more clinical in front of goal, leaving you wondering where exactly we stand.

That's why Leitrim's mindset is the big topic right now - I'm sure the players have heard the whispers that getting relegated back to the Intermediate ranks wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, learning the lessons of the year in Senior to lift the Mary Quinn Cup once more and it is an attractive, if understated and maybe dispiriting, argument.

Trouble is when you hear that argument put forth, it can seep into your consciousness without you ever really knowing it, at least not until it is too late before it reveals itself in those little moments that abound in every game - that split second visible when a prone Tipp player swiped at the sliothar, diverting it to a teammate who quickly fed sub Oisin O’Donoghue and he produced an almost Messi-like moment of skill to land a last minute goal that sent his team into the All-Ireland Final.

The evidence of last Saturday is that desire is still there but there was also an unstated undercurrent that Leitrim identified Mayo as their best chance of avoiding the drop. They should have beaten Mayo in  April and that Connacht game lay like a shadow over Saturday's clash - Leitrim confident in taking on the Mayo giants, the women in Green & Red nervous and unsure of themselves.

Chatting to the Mayo fans before the game, they regarded Leitrim with something almost akin to dread. The word on the street was Liam MacHale had lost the dressing room and the mood was not good but once Sinead Walsh pounced on an errant Leitrim kickout for her team's first goal, the switch flicked as Mayo grew in confidence.

There is no internal strife in Leitrim, albeit Jonny Garrity was forced to field without Sarah Reynolds and Aoife Gilmartin last Saturday as both are away, but getting the head right is now the main priority - Donegal, with their proud record and history at the top flight, are a formidable team but is there is kick in this Leitrim squad?

Interesting too that the two teams played a challenge some months ago in Kinlough - Leitrim had the better of it in the first half, Donegal made changes in the second and secured the win but, other than a passing familiarity with each other, how much does that tell us? The fact that the game is in Tubbercurry  is an advantage given Leitrim's familiarity with the venue but it probably also increases the expectations a tad! 

My experience tells me that in relegation playoffs, one team is usually a little bit off where they'd like to be, the toll of a disappointing season telling when everything is on the line. Every now and again, teams just go for it in a relegation playoff - I remember Laura & Eilish O'Dowd producing an exceptional display back in 2019 to preserve Leitrim's Intermediate status against Wicklow in a game that was just bananas for scores.

Mayo faced that dilemma last Saturday and answered their own internal questions - Leitrim and Donegal face those same questions next Saturday. It would not be the end of the world were Leitrim to be relegated but staying up would almost be the equal of what was achieved last year. The question now is whether Leitrim capture their one chance or let it slip away!