Paul and Aughnasheelin taking game as it comes ahead of Intermediate decider
Sunday may be the biggest day of the year for teams in the Smith Monumentals Leitrim Intermediate Championship but for Aughnasheelin, the emphasis is to keep doing what they’ve being doing to get this far according to captain Paul Earley.
With excitement building in the parish during a run to Sunday’s Final against Annaduff that has seen the club defy a crippling injury, Paul agreed that Final fever was hot in Aughnasheelin: “It is great for the parish, they’ve been absolutely fantastic support and hopefully we can get to lift the cup for them and celebrate then.”
But nobody in the Aughnasheelin camp is thinking of celebrations with their total concentration on performing next Sunday: “This is just another game - there is a title at the end of the day but we have a lot of the young lads and we will just have to try and prepare them for it, treat the final as any other game and keep doing what we’re doing and our gameplan.”
That approach was evident throughout the knockout stages with Aughnasheelin recovering from the disappointment of missing out on an automatic semi-final place by overcoming both Bornacoola and Kiltubrid to reach the Final with defeat in the final group game against Allen Gaels costing them.
Yet that loss might have been more valuable in the long run according to Paul: “We had a tough game against Allen Gaels in the group stages, probably didn’t get off to a good start but in saying that, it was a good thing for us to keep us striving on and not take any game for granted.
“That’s what we’re doing now, we’re taking every game as we go - we can back the second half against Allen Gaels in the group stages, lads showed great drive but we’ll take each game as it comes.”
An injury crisis that saw them lose Leitrim panelist Conor Cullen and long serving Philip Dolan for the entire year along with injuries to Cian Sammon and Fintan Fitzpatrick has tested Aughnasheelin’s resilience but it has also bonded the players together even tighter.
“A full-back, a full-forward and then Cian Sammon a wing forward, three very influential players,” recounts Paul, “Conor is with the county and Philip has been the best full-back we’ve had. To lose them, we were pretty much heartbroken for them but it did bring us closer in that every man really has to step up now, push on and really have that desire to win.
“All of the injuries we’ve had this year, you’d think where are we going to go but every lad stepped up, the young lads on the panel, and that is what we wanted. Everyone stepped up and pushed on and that has made the difference why we’re here.”
Terence Reynolds has also made a big impact on the squad along with an influx of younger players: “There is a bit of everything really and Terence has brought that to it. We have great young lads come up together this year and last year that we haven’t had in the last two or three years.
“All of that together has really pushed us on together, with the injuries we’ve picked up, especially to Fintan in the last few weeks. Again lads just have to step up, we can’t dwell on it but fair to the young lads.”
Paul himself is a veteran of quite a few big occasions, winning the Intermediate title with Aughnasheelin in 2017 and the Lory Meagher Cup with the county hurlers and he is delighted to be contesting Sunday’s Final: “We’re absolutely delighted to be in a County Final, it's five years since we were last in the Intermediate.
“I didn’t do the hurling this year, I’ve been mad busy this year and I thought the football was enough to keep going. We’re a great team there so I am just delighted for all the lads that they’re getting to a County Final.”