Longford supremo Paddy Christie praises a very hard working performance in the vital win against Leitrim

The win for Longford over Leitrim was the third successive victory for Paddy Christie’s charges and they now join Leitrim, Carlow and Wexford on six points in the race to see which of the four will be promoted to Division 3 along with Laois with two rounds of fixtures remaining.

Speaking to the Leader after the match, the Longford manager Paddy Christie expressed his joy at the crucial win.

‘We are delighted with the win against a side who had won three of their four league matches and the one they lost was by just a point away to Carlow with the last attack of the game.

Leitrim were in a really good place coming into this game against us, so with our mixed form coming into this match, we are very happy to have won. 

“A lot of the things we were looking for throughout the year, we got from the players today. 

“It may have been a six-point win on the scoreboard but Leitrim had their chances, so it wasn’t a comprehensive victory in my eyes, but it was a morale booster, we worked very hard at it and we showed great heart. 

“When Leitrim came back at us, we showed composure and calmness too. 

“Apart from a ten-minute patch in the first half and at the beginning of the second half, they didn’t dominate us, and during the rest of the match we looked in control and had that edge in the physical stakes.”

There were two black cards issued, one for each side, and Leitrim then had Jack Gilheaney dismissed for a silly offence in the second half which extinguished Leitrim’s  last hope of getting a result. 

Reflecting on the impact of those cards on the outcome, Christie had this to say.

‘We took more advantage of their black card than they did of ours but the Leitrim red card suited us perfectly as it meant they were under more pressure and it was harder for them to press up, and it gave us a bit more leeway having the extra man in defence.

“I thought our excellent tackling and blocking and intensity throughout the game led to some of their players getting frustrated and that can lead to some players cracking then and that played a big role in the sending off which was the correct decision. 

“There was not a lot in it but we would be annoyed if one of our players did that.”

After losing their opening two games away to Laois and at home to Tipperary, Longford have now beaten Waterford away, London at home and now Leitrim at home.

So winning the last two matches at home to Carlow and away to Wexford would earn Longford promotion but Christie is only concentrating on the Carlow game in two weeks’ time.

"We have very bad memories of playing Carlow last year in the Tailteann Cup, we played very poorly and were completely overrun by them, so we are under no illusions about how difficult a game that will be. 

“Despite the six-point win over Leitrim, we had an extra player for about the last twenty minutes or so, and we are far from being the finished article and the lads are aware of that too. 

“It is pointless looking at the Wexford game, because if we lose to Carlow, the Wexford game will be irrelevant for us as we will not be able to get promoted, so our focus will be the Carlow game only. 

“After a good display against Leitrim and winning our third game in-a-row, the question is, can we now repeat this victory against a Carlow team that outplayed us the last time we met.

“What happens with other results is irrelevant to us. We have to perform with tenacity and intensity against Carlow.”

Finally, Christie acknowledged that the team is gelling together now and that the extra physicality that midfielder Paddy Kiernan is bringing to the table is also a huge positive.

‘You hate naming names with the team effort and the panel effort, but Paddy Kiernan’s physicality around the middle of the field has given us an extra edge.

 “Some people would have questioned whether he is inter-county material, but we definitely believe that he has added significantly to the team, and it has been infectious as other players are being more physical now as well.

 “Liam Hughes is half the size of Paddy but he too has added a lot in the last couple of games as well. It is more to do with a mentality and that is spreading through the team which is great. 

“We need to bring that and other attributes into the Carlow game if we are going to beat a very good opposition.

 “They have excellent players, the likes of wing-back Jordan Morrissey and Colm Hulton up front, so it is going to be a really difficult challenge for us.”