Leitrim Club Team of the Week – Week 2

After another weekend of club championship football in Leitrim and with the Ladies getting underway yesterday, our reporters had the difficult task of putting together a combined 15 for week two.

The Ladies competition and the bulk of the Mens Intermediate Championship began over the weekend, which meant for some particularly tough decisions for our reporters. As 15 games took place, 30 teams competed, and over 500 players took the field, so our selection had to make some hard calls.

With a larger pool of players the criteria for the team was affected, and many in the county will find themselves very unfortunate not to feature. Numerous players who can boast a high scoring tally over the weekend are absent from the team.

Mohill’s Keith Beirne, Gerald Percival of Carrigallen and Martin Feeney of Dromahair are examples of this. Honourable mentions on the Ladies side consist of Glencar/Manor trio Muireann Devaney, Ailbhe Clancy and Leah Fox, and Aisling Leahy of St. Mary’s.

These players put up impressive numbers however various circumstances prevented their selection. Some finished on the losing side and others were part of one sided games without the cut and thrust of even competition.

The names that did make the cut however exceeded expectations on the day or led their club to an unexpected win with a standout individual performance.

In some tight calls, preference was also given to players who hadn’t featured in last week’s selection or those who aren’t established county stars.

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GK/Full-back

Fenagh’s victory over Mohill in the Mens SFC was a primary talking point of Saturday night as they overcame their neighbours by three points. Fantastic early saves by goalkeeper Shane Doonan kept his side in the game at a crucial stage and his performance was pivotal.

Jasmine Maye makes up the first female selection in the full back line as St. Mary’s earned a huge victory over 2020 Intermediate Champions Mohill. Maye was a rock at the back as St. Mary’s perfectly began what is shaping up to be a strong title challenge.

Mark Diffley also features in the back line for Carrick’s Men, as they redeemed last year’s semi-final loss to Ballinamore. Having impressed with Leitrim this season at full-back in the Tailteann Cup, he replicated that form in the side’s single point victory on the weekend.

Stephen McDermott was the standout component in Leitrim Gaels’ victory over Dromahair, keeping things tight at full-back. His performance helps see the Leitrim Village side to the top of the table with Fenagh after two rounds of the SFC.

Half-back

While forwards certainly win games, it is often said that defenders win championships, and this line comes to fore for Annette Ferguson’s selection at half-back. As Ladies SFC champions Glencar/Manor’s prolific forward unit put Dromahair to the sword, Ferguson’s excellent playmaking and marauding runs helped provide a base for their forwards to comfortably kick scores.

Barry Prior stood out at centre-back as 2018 champions Aughawillan got up and running in Round 2 with a win over Melvin Gaels. While Fergal McTague and Pearce Dolan also impressed in the middle of the field, Prior’s well-rounded performance sees him get the nod.

Seán McWeeney of Aughnasheelin was vital in their intermediate victory over Aughavas on Saturday night. Any number of Aughnasheelin men could have featured, but an excellent display from the former county star tees up a likely title challenge for the side.

Midfield

The middle two really had our reporters scratching their heads but Jack Gilheany of Fenagh is well deserving of his place for his crucial role in their Mohill upset. Captain Gilheany just edged out his teammate Donal Wrynn, but put on a phenomenal showing nonetheless.

Similarly Cian Mallon earns a spot based on his contribution to Bornacoola’s win over strong favourites Kiltubrid. Mallon led by example in the middle of the park as the Bors got a dream start to the Intermediate Championship.

It’s worth name checking Wrynn once more as well as Mohill’s Keith Keegan, and Aughawillan duo Fergal McTague and Pearce Dolan. These players were all in the final deliberations but just missed out. For the second week running, Barry McNulty of Glencar/Manor and Colm Moreton of Leitrim Gaels are also unlucky not to be included.

Half-forward

The forward division saw a plethora of impressive performances and scoring feats, but the diminutive Wayne Reynolds had to feature as he helped Ballinaglera to an opening intermediate win against Mohill. The nippy half-forward scored six points as Ballinaglera brushed their opponents aside.

Ryan O’Rourke is the sole survivor from last week’s team as Fenagh got that Mohill hoodoo off their back. His six scores and general forward play meant we couldn’t deny the Leitrim star another inclusion.

Back to the ladies for the final half-forward position and despite the excellent Aisling Leahy scoring 2-3 for St. Mary’s, it’s her teammate Sarah Reynolds who makes the cut. Reynolds was hugely impressive at both starting attacks from her own defence and also contributing 1-3 to the scoreboard as they defeated Mohill.

Full-forward

Riordan O’Rourke was another necessity in Fenagh’s victory over Mohill, and the inter-county star just pipped his team mate Oisin McLoughlin to a place. He gets the nod for his scoring prowess and tricky play style which caused a host of issues for the Mohill defence.

He may not have had the white flag raised in his name as much as some other names in the county, but Dáire Farrell was a standout as St. Mary’s got over the line against Ballinamore. His intuition and link-up play at full-forward was key to Carrick’s success on the weekend.

He may be the last name on your screen but Conor Beirne was the first name of the selection process. 2-10 last week wasn’t enough to make the team, while 2-4 this week seems like a lesser achievement on the face of it. The reality is that the former county dual star didn’t start due to injury and only entered the action in a tight game after 40 minutes before blowing Glencar / Manor’s reserves away in the final 20 minutes.

The coming weekend will host rounds 2 and 3 of Leitrim’s various club championships. Stay tuned for next week’s edition as the competition for places continues to heat up.