Resilient Longford battle back for draw against Leitrim to keep their semi-final hopes alive

Leitrim . . . 0-16  Longford . . . 1-13

On a day when both Longford and Leitrim ladies needed a win to secure a place in the Division 4 league semi-finals, they had to settle for a draw as Longford’s Kamille Burke struck a last-minute point to equalise this crunch Kiltubrid clash on Sunday last. 
Leitrim will feel they let the game slip away after heading into the final five minutes with a four-point lead and momentum on their side. However, a resilient Longford fought back to earn a well deserved draw to keep their league title hopes alive.
Neither team truly deserved to lose this encounter, which had everything you could want in a match: end-to-end attacks, multiple comebacks, and crucial scores at key moments.
A shower of rain made the ball slick and difficult to hold onto during a first half that was nip and tuck, with Leitrim’s top scorer, Ailbhe Clancy, and corner forward Leah Fox both putting in impressive displays, while Longford stayed in the game thanks to scores from Kamille Burke, Lauren McGuire and Aisling Cosgrove.
Leitrim were leading the way in the first half, with Longford working hard to keep the pace. It looked like that might be the story of the second half too as Ailbhe Clancy hit yet another free for the home side on the changeover.
Longford’s Ella O’Reilly, however, turned the game on its head in the next five minutes when her long-range effort dropped short and took an awkward bounce before finding its way into the Leitrim net. She followed that directly with a thirty-yard point off her left boot, putting Longford in the driving seat for the first time in the game.
Leitrim had a job to do to get back into the game, with Muireann Devaney and Ailbhe Clancy leading the charge before Lauren McGuire responded for Longford.
A real sense of urgency seemed to fall over Leitrim in the next few minutes as they pressed Longford hard in the middle of the field and made some big turnovers.
Leitrim got a point back from a Michelle Guckian free and began running harder at Longford, sending the ball long to Muireann Devaney, who acted as playmaker for her club mate Ailbhe Clancy, who hit over three points in the next five minutes.
Clancy added another from a free before Aoife Gilmartin, intercepted a short kickout intended for Longford substitute Fumni Talabi and returned the ball over the bar for Leitrim’s fifth unanswered point. Suddenly, Leitrim was four ahead in the closing stages.
The game was not over, and neither were Longford ready to accept defeat. They started a final rally, with Fumni Talabi taking the ball and running at the Leitrim defence, setting up Kamille Burke for a point, which Burke converted before hitting a beautiful score from a tight angle near the left touchline a minute later.
Lauren McGuire followed up with a score from a free while Ailbhe Clancy missed the chance to give Leitrim some breathing space at the other end.
Longford played a long ball inside to Kamille Burke, who managed to win herself a free in the final minute of the game. She slotted it over, and the sides were level for the seventh and final time.
There was one last chance as Leitrim went on the attack in search of the winner while Longford defended ferociously. The opportunity fell to Muireann Devaney to clinch the game for Leitrim but she couldn’t turn the difficult effort from range on target.
The draw means both teams will need a win in the final round of the league if they are going to book a place in the Division 4 semi-finals. For Leitrim, that means beating Sligo in Castleconnor, and for Longford, it means winning away to Wicklow and it could come down to scores difference.

Scorers: Muireann Devaney (0-1); Michelle Guckian (0-3, 2f); Ailbhe Clancy (0-9, 3f); Leah Fox (0-2); Aoife Gilmartin (0-1).

Leitrim: Michelle Monaghan; Mollie Murphy, Charlene Tyrell,  Jasmine Maye; Sarah Reynolds, Clare Owens, Lauren Devaney; Niamh Tighe, Chloe Dolan; Aoife Gilmartin, Michelle Guckian, Ailbhe Clancy; Leah Fox, Muireann Devaney; Emma Guckian. 

Subs:- Rachel McIntyre for L Devaney; Anna Devaney for C Dolan; Dearbhaile Beirne for E Guckian; Shylyn Ward for M  Guckian. 

Scorers: Ella O’Reilly (1-1); Aisling Cosgrove (0-1); Kamille Burke (0-6, 3f); Lauren McGuire, (0-5, 3f).

Longford: Aoife Cooney; Ailbhe Brady, Emma Bleakley, Leanne Keegan; Caoimhe McCormack, Eimear O’Brien, Ella Duggan; Shauna Hagan, Sian Gallagher; Katelyn McKeon, Katie Crawford, Ella O’Reilly; Kamille Burke, Lauren McGuire, Aisling Cosgrove.  

Subs used-second half: Mairead Reynolds, Niamh Brady and Fumni Talabi.