Michelle Guckian not too worried about Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 Final after ending Leitrim's semi-final curse
Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 Semi-Final: Leitrim captain pays tribute to resilience of Green & Gold squad in coming through stiff Sligo test
The absolute relief of finally securing promotion out of Division 4 was etched all over the face of Michelle Guckian last Sunday in Elphin, the Leitrim captain going so far as to proclaim that she isn’t worried one bit about the Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 Final against Carlow.
“I'm not too worried about the final now, we're in bonus territory at the minute,” Michelle told the Observer after the dramatic 2-10 to 1-11 extra-time victory over Sligo, adding “Our aim at the start of the year to get out of Division 4 and that's what we've done, so we're delighted with that.”
For Michelle, the game may have been a difficult watch for fans but sealing promotion was all that mattered: “It wasn't the prettiest of games, I'm sure, to watch and it definitely wasn't the prettiest games to play. Exciting, yeah, nail-biting, I'm sure, to watch but it just shows the tremendous panel that we have.
"A panel that is willing to go to the absolute trenches to get out of Division 4, and thank God we finally did. We were here long enough and tough, tough days. I think it's the semi-final curse. Obviously, every other division, it's just the top two going to the final so we finally got across that.”
Leitrim’s captain also agrees that pressure may have contributed to nerves on the day: “Definitely, the heartbreak from the last couple of years has been in the back of our heads for the whole game, and the warm-up, everything. In fairness, the preparation has been brilliant.
"The last three weeks, everyone has been chomping at the bit and preparations couldn't have gone any better but, I suppose, on the day, it just didn't work out too well for us. Sligo had their chances, they're a great team but I don't feel like we got going to our potential at all. It was a very itty-bitty game, kind of stop-and-go, stop-and-start.”
Michelle paid tribute to the impact of the Green & Gold bench on the outcome: “Obviously, the support is brilliant, we do have great supporters but on a day like that, that wind, the conditions of the game can change anything. But we had the grit, we kept going and you could see the depth that came off the bench. Anyone that came on, they were building, building, building on the team.”
Carlow, who beat Leitrim in the final group game, are up next in the Final: “It was an interesting game in Pairc Sean the last time, interesting to say the least and hopefully, it mightn't be as windy that day. It mightn't be as tactical and it might be a little bit more of a free-flowing game because it definitely was a hard one to watch back.
"We'll learn from today, we'll learn from that game too and we'll put it into perspective, and we'll enjoy today, enjoy getting out of Division 4, enjoy today and we'll reset, refocus on Wednesday for a league final in two weeks' time.”