Regrets mingle with pride for Garrity as Leitrim battle to the very end of Lidl NFL Division 4 Final
Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 Final reaction: Leitrim manager felt there should have been more time at end of second half of extra-time after stop-clock issue
Jonny Garrity is never one for platitudes or soft-soaping an issue and it was no different last Sunday in Grant Heating St Brendan’s Park in Birr after his Leitrim team suffered an agonising one point loss after extra-time at the hands of an impressive Carlow in the Lidl LGFA NFL Division 4 Final.
After coming out the right side of a dramatic extra-time battle with Sligo in the semi-final, it was Leitrim’s turn to wonder what might have been in Birr but for Garrity, his overwhelming pride in his team’s refusal to bow down to Carlow: “We're always proud of the girls and I think one of the first things we tried to instill in the team four years ago was that whenever defeats come and knock at your door, that you go down the right way, you learn how to lose a match.
“We showed today exactly the kind of fighting spirit and never say die attitude that this team has become synonymous with and I'm extremely proud of them, disappointed, gutted for them but very proud of them.”
The Leitrim manager, however, was less impressed by some of the decisions on the field and the operation of the ‘stop clock’ during the second period of extra-time: “I think that there should have been at least another couple of minutes left in that clock, the countdown timer seemed to be unaffected by any stoppage in play in the second half of extra time.
“We brought that problem to the linesman and the linesman said ‘don't worry about the timer, it's going off the referee's watch’. But when the clock went to zero, the hooter sounded. When there was a point in it we would have loved another kick out or two of theirs to attack and I think that it could have been a totally different story if we had been given that luxury which we should have been.”
A few decisions from referee Conor McCarthy also left Garrity bemused: “It is the case where there was a few decisions, like the wide that was given instead of the point and there was a breach again given that wasn't and it stopped us on our tracks.
“This is the second match in a row where referees have given a breach against us when it's quite clear that we've got three in our own half and that's disappointing but you need these things to go for you, today that didn't.”
For all that, Garrity was more inclined to look inward for the reasons for Leitrim’s loss, acknowledging how difficult Carlow are to play against: “Carlow are a tough team to play against, their style is abrasive, it's slow, it's methodical and it's effective - they're well drilled and well coached.
“I think we're a much more dynamic team and we showed that in our breakaways and in the spells that we had on top but we could have done more to maximize those spells, we made mistakes that let the pressure valve release for them and, as you say, it's difficult to analyse because I think it's a combination of things.
“There were a few soft scores there, there was giving possession up at times in a match that possession is so key in. Carlow probably missed a fair bit but we had some gilt-edge chances we missed as well.”
Carlow set the tone of the game early with their possession based approach to the game and Garrity admitted that the first half was not up to what Leitrim expected: “The first half wasn't good from our perspective, I think coming in at halftime level was a fantastic result for us.
“We sort of smashed and grabbed the goal against the run of play, not that we were under serious pressure but just that we were out of possession for a long time so I think we were much too passive. I felt that we were almost conceding their transition and that was certainly not what we wanted to do.
“I told the guys that we need to go and do more, this isn't going to be handed to us, we have to go and attack the game we have to affect more turnovers - we can't just sit behind and wait for them, we have to make sure that if they get that far, fair enough if we're set up defensively, but let's make sure they've worked to get that far.
“I think it improved greatly after that and for the second half and extra time we were more aggressive. We did go ‘one-on-one’ towards the end of the match when we needed to get the score to level it and again we did an extra time when we were chasing it.
“That was always in the in the playbook anyway but I think that the main thing for us is, that whenever the opposition are transitioning from defence to attack, it can't be a procession – we need to make them work for it so I think we've done that better as the game went on.”
Carlow’s third goal, just after the start of the second period of extra-time proved crucial with Cliodhna Ni Se’s low shot escaping the grasp of Leitrim keeper Martina Gallagher but Garrity felt his keeper had kept the team in the game for long periods: “Martina made saves from much more difficult shots, she won't be happy with that one and I'm disappointed for her.
“I thought she had a great game, other than that, with regards to her handling and her shot stopping. Disappointed for her but she owes us nothing because there were a few chances there she kept out and, had they went in, it would have been an uphill battle to stay in the game.
Leitrim now face old foes Roscommon in the Connacht Intermediate Championship Final on Sunday May 3, in Heartland Credit Union and Garrity is confident his team can raise themselves for the challenge, despite their deep disappointment from Sunday’s defeat: “That's down to the girls and their mindset so we'll expect no different.
“This will be sore for a day or two, maybe a week, there's no question about that but the beauty of having a Connacht final on the horizon is we don't get the luxury to dwell on it too much.
"We've got another big match and certainly the intention there will be to put in the same sort of heart and work rate and polish up on the elements of the game we feel we can and if we do that we're going to be hard to beat.”