On fire Honeyman leads brilliant Leitrim to comfortable Tailteann Cup victory over Carlow

Whether it was a revenge mission for a humiliating League loss in March or simply a team finding their form at just the right time, a superb Leitrim turned in a marvellous display to brush aside the challenge of Division 4 champions Carlow in Saturday’s Tailteann Cup Round 2B clash in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

Led by an imperious Paul Honeyman who landed nine points, including two two-pointers that propelled Leitrim in the lead early in the second half, Leitrim combined a mature if cagey first half performance against a strong wind with a passionate all-out freewheeling display in the second to land a statement win.

The strong wind dictated much of the contest - Carlow had it in the first half and in the early stages, they looked as if they would build a match winning lead as they led by five points but a methodical and perhaps conservative Leitrim approach saw them eat into the lead steadily in the second quarter.

That Leitrim only trailed by three points at the break was proof Steven Poacher’s strategy had worked and once the home team started to find their range, Killian Gaffey and Honeyman in particular landing 15 of the 22 points between them, there was only ever going to be one winner!

It wasn’t a win without strife - a scrambled Lee Walker goal temporarily halted Leitrim’s second half surge, putting the visitors in front for a time, but instead of derailing the Green & Gold challenge, Leitrim steadied themselves and continued to boss the proceedings, the six point winning margin reflective of the team’s dominance.

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Whether that played a part in the intensity and fire Leitrim brought to the game, only the players can say but it was obvious from the stands that Steven Poacher’s men moved with a ferocity that had been lacking in Pairc Esler just a week before.

The victory puts Leitrim into round 3 of the Tailteann Cup where they will face one from London and the losers of the Antrim Tipperary or the Fermanagh Wexford game on the weekend of June 6-7, the draw being made on Monday lunchtime.

Whoever they face, Leitrim will go into the game with increasing confidence, particularly if some of the injured troops can make a return, but there is no doubting the value of this victory, both in its significance and the manner in which it was achieved.

Carlow made the early running with Lee Walker putting a two point attempt wide while Killian Gaffey fielded a poor Ross Dunphy fisted effort. The visitors opened the scoring four minutes in when Riordan O’Rourke was flagged for a three man breach, Adam McCarron landing a two point free.

Paddy McDonnell ghosted into space in the right corner to fist the ball over the bar before Leitrim’s first real sight of goal saw Fergal McLoughlin get onto the end of a Mark Diffley crossfield pass but he drove his low shot across the face of the goal, Ryan O’Rourke following up with a wide.

Conor Crowley burst through to fist over a point on nine minutes but Leitrim settled when Paul Honeyman cut in from the corner, rode a foul and fired over on 11 minutes. Carlow hit back home with a far too easy two point from wing-back Padraig Bolger two minutes later.

A good pass from Conor Quinn released Ryan O’Rourke for a good point but Ross Dunphy did well to beat Sean Harkin on the endline, cut out to fire the ball over the bar on the midway point of the first half, Carlow leading by five points.

But Leitrim were starting to find a foothold in the game - a delayed kickout allowed Ryan O’Rourke tap over a free and when Oisin McLoughlin did incredibly well to get in ahead of a defender on a Carlow kickout, the Fenagh man showed off his juggling skills, somehow keeping possession without ever really taking hold of the ball before hooking the ball over the crossbar.

Mark Diffley popped up into space to fire over a good point and suddenly Leitrim were just two adrift at halftime but Ross Dunphy hit a monster two pointer from out near the stand side to stretch the lead to four points. Leitrim held onto the ball for a long period before halftime but finished with a well worked Riordan O’Rourke point.

That left Leitrim trailing 0-9 to 0-6 at the break but given the strength of the wind blowing towards the scoreboard end, Green & Gold fans were quite confident at the break, although an early card for Mark Diffley, that could easily have been a stiffer punishment, saw McCarron extend Carlow’s lead to four points early in the second half.

A heavy foul on Eoin McLoughlin led to a yellow card for Padraig Bolger and the ball advanced 50 metres by referee Liam Devaney. That brought it within range of Killian Gaffey and he hit a monster 50 metre free over the crossbar and sparked a Leitrim surge.

From that kickout, Eoin McLoughlin intercepted with the ball eventually coming to Paul Honeyman who launched a massive two pointer over the bar. The next kickout came with the same result, Honeyman landing a huge two pointer as Carlow’s four point lead was turned into a two point Leitrim advantage in the space of a minute!

But any thoughts of Leitrim cruising to victory got an awful jolt when Mark Diffley made a huge effort to block a shot from Conor Crowley, the ball spinning wildly and catching Gaffey off his line and out of position with players crashing into each other, Lee Walker drove the ball to an empty net ten minutes into the second half.

Leitrim didn’t have long to regain the lead - a foul on Arek Oberwan came with a quick free and Paul Honeyman hit his third two pointer from 55 yards to put the Green & Gold back on top.

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With Leitrim growing in confidence, a foul on Honeyman saw Gaffey hit another two point free after 19 minutes to put a goal between the team before Leitrim started to miss a few chances and Carlow sub Adam Burgess saw a goal chance smothered before Paddy McDonnell tapped over.

Bolger got a well worked point for Carlow to leave just a point between the teams with just over ten minutes left on the clock but Leitrim’s desire started to overwhelm Carlow - Ross Dunphy was carded for a foul on Eoin McLoughlin and Gaffey converted a fifty of the game.

Leitrim broke through for a goal chance but Ben McCarron made a good save to deny Conor Quinn, although there was some reward with Gaffey sending over his second 50. Seconds later, Keith Keegan broke through a tackle and fired over to put Leitrim four points up.

Conor Quinn fired over after a pass from Ryan O’Rourke and Paul Honeyman, over eight minutes into added time, led a Leitrim break before scoring his eighth point of the day. A Dunphy free brought Carlow’s scoring to an end but with Gaffey batting out a lob into the goalmouth, Leitrim had the last word when Honeyman took his total to nine for the day with a fisted point.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Paul Honeyman 0-9, 3 tp; Killian Gaffey 0-6, 2 tpf, 2 50; Ryan O’Rourke 0-2, 1f; Mark Diffley, Keith Keegan, Conor Quinn, Riordan O'Rourke & Oisin McLoughlin 0-1 each

Team: Killian Gaffey; Arek Oberwan; Conor Reynolds; Seán Harkin; Eoin McLoughlin; Mark Diffley; Kieran Clancy; Keith Keegan; Conor Quinn; Fergal McLoughlin; Ben Guckian; Riordan O'Rourke; Paul Honeyman; Ryan O'Rourke; Oisín McLoughlin. Subs: Jack Kelly for Guckian (59); Ruairi O'Rourke for F Mcloughlin (61); Eanna McNamara for Harkin (65); Tom Plunkett for O McLoughlin (66); James Rooney for E Mcloughlin (67)

CARLOW

Scorers: Ross Dunphy 0-4, 1f; Adam McCarron (tpf & f) & Padraig Bolger (tp) 0-3 each; Lee Walker 1-0; Paddy McDonnell 0-2; Conor Crowley 0-1

Team: Ben McCarron; Niall Roche, Dara Curran, Lee Moore; John Phiri, Mark Furey, Padhraig Bolger; Aaron Amond, Aaron McCarron;, Paddy McDonnell, Jamie Clarke, Conor Doyle; Conor Crowley, Ross Dunphy, Lee Walker. Subs: Subs: Adam Burgess & Kyle Nolan for Moore & Walker (41); Christopher Blake for McCarron (57); Shane Clarke for Roche (58); Liam Gavin for Bulger (58)

Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo)