Leitrim Ladies relish Rossie Rematch

Manager Jonny Garrity has proclaimed that his players are relishing the opportunity to continue their TG4 LGFA All-Ireland IFC voyage next Sunday in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada when they take on neighbours Roscommon in a rematch of this year’s Connacht Final.

Leitrim take on Roscommon in what many would regard as a potential banana skin, having defeated their neighbours 4-18 to 0-8 in the Provincial Final, in a winner takes all encounter. But the absence of a safety net isn’t a concern for Garrity and his players who are relishing the challenge!

“The safety net for us isn't relevant,” Garrity told the Observer, “We treated the Connacht final and both group games as though that's all that was on our minds, one match will be exactly the same as the other so we look forward to next Sunday, we're really relishing it.”

In a chat with the Observer before next Sunday’s encounter, Garrity admitted that his team’s ability to react to setbacks and turn on the style at a moment’s notice is a potent weapon: “That's the intangible - whatever you want to call it, grit or that ability to deal with adversity and come out swinging. To concede a goal, to concede a player, to deal with those things and to bounce back.

“Those are massive pluses for us and we have shown the way, similarly to 2024, that we can win a game in a variety of ways. That breeds confidence, there's no doubt about that, but we still yearn after that performance where it clicks on the day and we play exactly how we want to play. That's what we're going after, but we know if we have to go to the well, these players are very difficult to shake.”

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However, Leitrim could still be without Ailbhe Clancy and Dearbhla Rooney for the crunch game as both are battling back from injury, with the Green & Gold boss promising to give both players every chance to make it: “We've had long injury absentees in the likes of Alilbhe Clancy and Dearbhla Rooney, those girls are probably unavailable for the match. But we'll give them every chance at the same time. Jasmine Maye, the same, but we've got a reasonably clean deck of health at this point in time and hopefully it stays that way.”

Roscommon shocked group winners Down in their final group game to secure a quarter final ahead of Cavan with the return of Laura Mannion making a huge difference to the Rossies, the experienced player scoring a goal in the victory over the Mourne women.

That victory meant that Roscommon pipped Cavan, who had beaten them by three points, on scoring difference after the Breffni women suffered a heavy defeat against Down in the second round game.