September road

Compiled by DAMIAN CULLEN

IT WILL HAPPEN THIS WEEK

In a desperate effort to solve Leitrim’s scoring problems, manager Mickey Moran will make an approach for Ryan Giggs (but he’ll say he’s tied up).

After refusing to do post-match interviews on TV3, GAA managers will confirm a letter has been sent to TV3's offices citing the ill-treatment of Cheryl Cole by X-Factor.

Meath primary teachers are to meet to agree to bring shapes back into the local school curriculum, after an absence of several decades. Particular emphasis is to be placed on all quadrilaterals containing four right angles.

Brian Cody will up the ante ahead of the Leinster hurling final by saying he hopes Dublin defeat Galway, as he has nothing but revenge on his mind. He says Kilkenny will “bomb Dublin back to the dark ages” (1962-2010).

LONG TIME COMING

THINGS that have been invented since the last time Carlow reached a Leinster senior football final? How about Toyota’s Hybrid Car (2003), the World Wide Web (1990), disposable camera (1986), cell phones (1979), audio cassette (1962), Barbie (1959) and the atomic bomb (1945).

So perhaps it’s little wonder Wexford supporters are rubbing their hands at the prospect of a provincial decider meeting with Kildare or Dublin on July 10th.

Might be worth remembering, however, the last time Carlow did reach the decider, in 1944, they beat Wexford in the semi-final – 5-7 to 3-6, before shocking Dublin, 2-6 to 1-6, to claim their first, and only, Leinster senior football title.

No pressure: Leitrim’srecord in qualifiers can only improve

SO LEITRIM, once again, are relieved of the pressure of the provincial championship and left to focus on, well, the pressure of the All-Ireland qualifiers.

By virtue of their provincial first round victory over Sligo, they were not in the hat for yesterday’s first round qualifier draw and so won’t know who they will face until the second round draw in a fortnight.

Not that it appears to matter.

Since the qualifier system was introduced 10 years ago, Leitrim have yet to win a single game in the All-Ireland championship.

Nine matches, nine defeats, with Leitrim being spared having to play a qualifier match in 2008 due to the bizarre rule at the time where teams playing in Division Four of the following season’s NFL were omitted from the qualifiers.

Leitrim have been unlucky on several occasions – some times in the opposition they’ve faced, a few times in the match result.

They’ve been drawn against big guns such as Tyrone (2002), Dublin (’04), Mayo (’05) and Kildare (last year).

However, on other days the players have left the pitch knowing their summer should not have been declared over before it had got started.

In 2003, they led Roscommon in the second round qualifier at Carrick-on-Shannon by two points in injury-time. Substitute David O’Connor was to collect a loose ball to put Roscommon through.

And, in 2007, Donegal needed extra-time to beat Leitrim by two points.

Mickey Moran’s men need to put this hoodoo to bed, once and for all.