THE LAST POINT: ​Winning not the only metric for success

There’s a fine line journalists tread when it comes to analysing defeats, particularly those on the local stage in an era when winning is seemingly the only currency that matters. Write positively and you are accused of patronising sports people who are conditioned to win but putting the boot in is equally fraught when judging only the final result can see you fail to acknowledge what might have been a superb performance, one of courage, heart and resilience in the face of enormous odds.

The reality is somewhere in between the two and, for most of my time with the Observer, defeats for club and county can both be positive and negative at one and the same time – a comment on social media about our report on Sunday’s Sunday’s AIB Connacht Club SFC Quarter Final got me thinking, a game in which Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins tested a vaunted Salthill Knocknacarra to the nth degree, a barnstorming, blow for blow affair that left me completely enthralled despite the 3-16 to 2-14 defeat.

The comment “Only in Leitrim is defeat kinda celebrated” stopped me dead when I read it, not because it isn’t a valid opinion, but it got me thinking what happens if winning is the only metric a team is judged on? If we reduce everything to such simple, bald terms, only the team that lifts the Andy Merrigan Cup next January can be considered to have a successful year. You might win a County title but if you don’t go all the way and win the All-Ireland Club title, does that mean celebrating your County Final victory or reaching a Provincial Final is also celebrating defeat?

Of course, that is somewhat simplistic too but take St Joseph’s Ladies as an example – they won the Connacht LGFA Senior B title last Saturday, the first club from Leitrim to do so. Should they celebrate or should they wallow in despair after losing the County Final? Judging from the celebrations, St Joseph’s truly appreciated what winning the Provincial Senior B title represents, a tangible reward after years of facing the unstoppable machine that is the Glencar Manorhamilton juggernaut.

St Joseph’s have suffered some cruel, heartbreaking defeats at the hands of Manorhamilton but they keep coming back year after year, stealing themselves for the fight and refusing to take a backward step – that Saturday’s triumph came in a Senior B competition doesn’t downgrade it’s importance but rather highlights their courage and resilience. But if we subscribe to the notion that winning is all that matters, then we shouldn’t celebrate it at all.

That brings me nicely to the dichotomy I experienced after Sunday’s game in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada – supporters were thrilled by Ballinamore’s battling display, inspired by their refusal to bend the knee when the Galway giants threatened to run away with it at various stages of the game. That giddiness and satisfaction contrasted with the disappointment of the O’Heslins players, the gnawing feeling that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had passed them.

Both things can be true – Sunday was a chance that mightn’t come around again but Ballinamore delivered a performance that lives up to the finest tradition of the club, a tradition that has seen them contest four Connacht Club finals in the almost 60 years history of the competition, the same number of appearances as those of Aughawillan (2), St Mary’s Kiltoghert and Allen Gaels combined. Ballinamore honoured their history, not cowering in the face of a star laden Salthill by deploying a defensive rearguard action, but striking out on the front foot from minute one to minute 60.

Sometimes we forget what we’re up against when Leitrim teams do battle – Ballinamore town has an estimated population of just over 1,260, the rural surrounds may take it up a notch but Salthill Knocknacarra’s catchment area is estimated somewhere between 21,500 and 23,500 people, a figure that comes close to the combined populations of the Carrick on Shannon and Ballinamore Electoral districts! And as the rural clubs in Leitrim know all too well, numbers make all the difference and Salthill, the same as Castlebar, St Brigid’s of Roscommon and St Mary’s Sligo, operate in a completely different stratosphere in terms of resources and population.

That’s not a reason to give up, certainly nobody could accuse Ballinamore of doing that but, in the history of the Connacht Club Championship, Galway and Leitrim have clashed 11 times and the Tribesmen have emerged victorious each and every time. Going back over the last 25 years from 2026 to 2001, Leitrim clubs have registered just three wins and two draws, two wins against Sligo teams and one over the London champions four years ago – incidentally, London is on the horizon for the winners of the Fenagh Cup in 2027!

Near misses have been as frequent as hammerings, 12 defeats of five points or less, 11 of ten points or more, but over the last 25 years, some of the very best club teams in Ireland have called Connacht their home – Corofin, Crossmolina, Ballina, St Brigid’s and Salthill Knocknacarra all lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup in that quarter century and in the smallest of the provinces, coming up against a giant is statistically more likely.

If I’m being honest, I never felt that the shock was on; Salthill always had the answer to whatever Ballinamore threw at them, the Leitrim standard bearers chasing and chasing with all their might but Salthill seemed to work their scores that bit easier - I know it didn’t feel like it but between wides, blocked shots or ones that fell short and saves, both teams missed 11 chances over the 60 plus minutes but the Galway lads responded in devastating fashion every time Ballinamore inflicted a blow.

If representing your club or county with pride means anything, if puffing your chest out and saying we will not back down or cower, then Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins did that and more and that is a true measure of success. St Joseph’s looked down and out at times against Drumcliffe Rosses Point but fought as if their lives depended on it, winning a title that will mean just as much to them as any County triumph in the years to come so maybe winning is not the only metric of success.