Rebuilding a painful process for Longford with Wicklow in the way

It remains to be seen whether Longford can improve on their poor record in the Leinster Senior Football Championship when they take on Wicklow in the opening round at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park this Sunday, throw-in 3.30pm.

At stake is the daunting task of facing the might of Dublin a week later with the bonus of home advantage. 

On the evidence of what was witnessed in Division 4 of the National League this season the formbook suggests that Wicklow will earn a crack at the dominant Leinster champions in the quarter-final.  

When the counties clashed in Aughrim back in February, Wicklow cruised to a comprehensive 2-15 to 0-12 success and just missed out on promotion, much to the bitter disappointment of their manager Oisin McConville with the draw against Limerick the killer blow. 

It was a different story for Longford who never really recovered from the unlucky loss against Tipperary in Clonmel in the previous round but all will be forgiven if they can manage to cross the first hurdle in the championship.

The departure of a batch of experienced players, most notably Michael Quinn and Darren Gallagher, has hit the county hard and the rebuilding job under the guidance of the new boss Mike Solan is proving to be a painful process. 

If given time the Mayo native will believe that he can rectify the low ebb situation and a win against Wicklow in the championship will be a big boost in the right direction. 

The emergence of U-20 player Matthew Carey is a real bright spark while the return of Oran Kenny after his absence last season has added some more badly needed scoring power into the attack.

Backboned by a now regular full-back-line in Bryan Masteron, Oisin O’Toole and the team captain Patrick Fox, the Longford defence will be under pressure to deal with the serious threat of the Wicklow dangermen Oisin McGraynor and Kevin Quinn.

The midfield battle is another cause for concern as Longford are up against the vastly experienced Dean Healy who will take a lot of stopping but Wicklow could be vulnerable at the back with Patrick O’Keane and Malachy Stone the key figures. 

Stone lined out for UCD in opposition to DCU defender Bryan Masterson in this year’s Sigerson Cup final and few can argue with the fact that Longford will be hard pressed to cross the first hurdle in the championship.

Fortunate to come out on top against Waterford and London in the league, a sixth placed finish and a subsequent fourth seed in the 2025 Tailteann Cup is a pretty dismal return but hopefully things will improve in the not too distant future. 

The fickle Longford supporters have more or less deserted the team in the aftermath of the shocking defeat against Waterford in the Tailteann Cup last year when Paddy Christie was in charge and the struggle has continued this season in what has developed into a very tough task for the new management team.

After scoring a shock win over a strongly fancied Westmeath side in the opening round at O’Moore Park last year, Wicklow almost knocked Kildare out on their return to Portlaoise for the Leinster quarter-final with the lilywhites snatching a last gasp winning point in a dramatic finish.

Former Roscommon star Frankie Dolan, the man who guided Abbeylara to Longford senior championship glory last year and who remains at the helm, is currently a coach with the Wicklow squad who are making progress in the McConville regime.

Having said that, Longford will be quietly confident of causing a mild surprise and particularly so with home advantage so maybe their suffering supporters will have something to shout about in the battle for a rattle against Dublin!