CONNACHT SFC SEMI-FINAL:SLIGO FULL BACK Charlie Harrison is well placed to make a judgment call on Sunday's Connacht semi-final between Leitrim and provincial champions Roscommon.
If the football gods had smiled on Sligo they would be facing Roscommon as Connacht champions. Instead, they are waiting in the qualifiers having been beaten by Leitrim and without any silverware, despite overcoming Mayo and Galway last year.
So, to the most recent conqueror of a Sligo team that promised us so much, but delivered so little this past year. “A lot of people were saying we were caught on the hop but I don’t think so,” said Harrison. “I just think (Leitrim) were better than us.
“Maybe we haven’t been ourselves this year. But they are a young side, seven debutants against us; they were full of energy and their work-rate off the ball was fantastic, but I still think Roscommon are going to pip them, even though it is in Carrick.
“Leitrim seem to have a better record against Roscommon in the Hyde rather than Carrick.”
Like the rest of us, he edges towards Roscommon but his personal experience of working under Leitrim’s much travelled Derry-born manager Mickey Moran guarantees an interesting contest.
“Yeah, I was there with him in Jordanstown. He was co-manager with Adrian McGuckin when we won the Sigerson in 2008.
“Probably one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked under. His drills, everything, it was like a maze of cones when you walked out on to the pitch, cones there, there, there, but every drill was marked out and you weren’t spending a long time on everything. There was no running without the ball, everything was with the ball.
“It’s typically Mickey Moran-style the way Leitrim are playing at the moment, short passing and the ball-handling skills within the tackle are very good. Coaching is his forte.”
So, where can Leitrim upset Roscommon? “They’ve a very hard working midfield and their fullforward line are quite good, they’re non-stop running all the time and just their work-rate, very hard to get behind the ball.
“It’s typical Mickey Moran play, they’re nice and tight, they’re not rushing things, they’re patient on the ball, then give it and they try to work Emlyn Mulligan into a scoring position and he seems to be the man in there.”
From conversation with Moran yesterday, the revival of Mulligan’s intercounty career appears to have galvanised the entire team.
“There were a couple of years there when he was struggling with a cruciate so it is great to see him back,” said Moran. “He is a great lad and a helluva footballer.”
Will Moran be speaking to RTÉ after the game? “No comment to make on that. All my focus is on preparation for Leitrim against Roscommon.”
Both Moran and Roscommon manager Fergal O’Donnell have selected unchanged line-ups from their first championship outings against Sligo and New York.
Cavan’s joint managers, Val Andrews and Terry Reilly, have named five defenders without championship experience for Sunday’s Ulster football quarter-final against Donegal.
In recognition of reaching the under-21 All-Ireland final, James McEnroe, Patrick Carroll, Dane O’Dowd, Niall Murray and Damien Reilly come into the defence.
The McMahon brothers gave Tyrone a big boost last night by returning to action with their club. Joe and Justin both played the full hour for Omagh in their league tie against Carrickmore at Healy Park. Joe, who suffered a double fracture of his jaw in a club game a few weeks ago, played at midfield, while his younger brother, now fully recovered from a hamstring injury, figured at centre back.
Meanwhile, AFL club St Kilda are poised to give Tommy Walsh his first game tomorrow against the Western Bulldogs. Midfielder Leigh Montagna has a knee injury so the 23-year-old former Kerry forward could be St Kilda’s ninth debutant after impressing for feeder side Sandringham when marking Setanta Ó hAilpín’s former Carlton team-mate, the troubled Brendan Fevola.
LEITRIM (SFC v Roscommon):C McCrann; D Reynolds, R Gallagher, P Maguire; B Prior, G Reynolds, W McKeon; T Beirne, D Lowe; P Brennan, E Mulligan, R Lowe; A Croal, C Beirne, J Glancy.
ROSCOMMON (v Leitrim):G Claffey; S McDermott, P Domican, N Carty; I Kilbride, D Keenan, D Ward; M Finneran, K Mannion; S O'Grady, K Higgins, C Cregg; C Devanney, S Kilbride, D Shine.
CARLOW (SFC v Louth):T O'Reilly; A Murphy, C Lawlor, B Kavanagh; P Cashin, S Redmond (capt), K Nolan; B Murphy, D Foley; P Hickey, T Walsh, E Finnegan; B Murphy, S Gannon, D St Ledger.
CAVAN (SFC v Donegal):J Reilly; J McEnroe, P Carroll, D O'Dowd; N Murray, J McCutcheon, D Reilly; R Cullivan, D Givney; G McKiernan, M Lyng, F Flanagan; N McDermott, E Keating, S Johnston.
