Where else would you get it?
Only in the Connacht FBD League in the pits of January.
Avant Card Páirc Sean Mac Diarmada was the place to be on the first Sunday of 2019 and any adult who paid a tenner and any student who paid a fiver got way more than the money’s and the trip’s worth to Carrick on Shannon.
A sin bin, a red card and a penalty shootout, you’d pay 15 for that.
For Leitrim fans, it was the crack of a bright new dawn. Brendan Guckian’s men showed signs of progress last year, beating New York in the championship and running Laois close in the League but with Terry Hyland on board this year, this was the first game, a clean slate and a fresh start.
And Buoyed by Aughawillan putting it up to Mayo champs Ballintubber in the Connacht club, Leitrim knew they could give Mayo lots of it.
That they did. Despite trailing by eight at one stage, they kept battling away and with the county’s most talented young footballer Ryan O’Rourke turning the game on its head upon his introduction, it’s clear that they’ve lots to look forward to this year.
Indeed, only for their man Evan Sweeney being denied by the cross-bar with a goal effort late-on, they could well have sealed a historic victory over James Horan’s men here.
SO CLOSE!! @ConnachtGAA FBD Insurance League
Leitrim 2-11
Mayo 2-12
Evan Sweeney off the crossbar!!
(62 mins)#GAA #LeitrimGAA— Leitrim GAA (@LeitrimGAA) January 6, 2019
But while they can count themselves unfortunate on that count, they can count their lucky stars that they made it to a penalty shootout afterwards.
That’s because their midfielder, Ballinamore man Dean McGovern, who had spent ten minutes in the bin earlier in the game, was shown a red card by referee James Molloy 36 minutes into the second half, only for him to play a crucial role in their equalising score on his way off.
With Leitrim desperate for a levelling score, the ball came to him – harmlessly and unknowingly according to our sources at the ground – and what’s a man supposed to do when a ball lands in his hands?
He passed it to Damien Moran who kicked the score. 2-13 to 2-13 it finished.
Then there was the penalty shootout…
WATCH: The Scenes in Carrick on Shannon as Mayo Leitrim goes to penalties accompanied with some sound effects and commentary from Leitrim lads behind the goals 🤣 https://t.co/Cr79A4NiJA pic.twitter.com/Kc5hkRmtoB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 6, 2019
As for the Mayo faithful, they got a look at the next generation of their own. Brian Reape will have impressed them while Westport’s Fionn McDonagh also looks like he has plenty to offer.
On top of that, their ever entertaining team didn’t disappoint by offering up the novelty and excitement of a penalty shootout, surely one of the first in the inter-county game.
The Connacht FBD League never disappoints!
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