Leitrim captain Paddy Maguire admitted Leitrim’s pride was hurt after their shock defeat to New York.
Leitrim begin their Tailteann cup campaign away to Antrim on Sunday, their first game since losing to New York on Easter Saturday.
“It was a long week, a disappointing week, our reputation was hurt” admitted Maguire. New York beating Leitrim on penalties for a first every championship win.
“The lads are over it now and we’re ready for the Tailteann Cup” declared Maguire. “We went back to the drawing board” after New York. “Andy (Moran) had us right back at it on the Friday”.
“We weren’t clinical enough against New York, we didn’t take our chances” explained Maguire. “We’ve seen with New York they have ran a few teams close.”
“We left in the game, they were going to take their chance. So we came out the wrong side of it” explained Maguire.
Tailteann Cup Campaign
While the Connacht championship ended very early, Leitrim will get their second bite at the Tailteann cup, having been undone on penalties to Sligo last year.
“I think last year it was kind of up in the air what way it would take off” explained Maguire. “You see it last year and the coverage it got in the media and the all-star team!”
“You saw how competitive the games way, our game with Sligo and the way even the crowd responded to it, that made it!” declared Maguire.
“There was four or five thousand people at that game, anyone could have won it! It went down to penalties, if we had have won it we would have been going to Croke Park” smiles Maguire.
Improvement on qualifiers
Nonetheless Maguire is inno doubt, the Tailteann cup is more attractive than the All-Ireland qualifiers.
“Its tier two, we lost to New York the first day out, it could have been a very long summer if we had of got a tough qualifier” explains Maguire.
One advantage seen in 2022 was the small number of players who left county panels ahead of the Tailteann Cup.
“Definitely, it makes it more solid” explains Maguire of the format and schedule. “There’s more games, it’s what young players want, they more games, the big stage”.
“They have something to look forward to after the provincial championship” muses Maguire positively. “You have a big build-up to your provincial championship, you get knocked out and there’s a bit of a lull with the qualifiers”.
“Players might lose their focus, they might go travelling. The Tailteann Cup, has held everyone around. Talking to the lads this morning” guys are staying in with their panel.
“Everyone has a realistic chance of getting to the quarter-finals, so there is an excitement about it all” added Maguire.
Antrim v Leitrim is live on an extended Sunday Sport from 1pm.
