It was another case of "so near and yet so far" for Leitrim in 2007 as a narrow Connacht SFC defeat to Galway was followed by a heartbreaking extra-time loss to Donegal in the All-Ireland qualifiers. Highly-rated forward Declan Maxwell is hoping that next year, when Leitrim will compete in Division 3 of the restructured National League, will bring better fortune. After another year which saw Leitrim rattle the cages of some of the big guns of the football championship but ultimately fell just short, it's easy to empathize with Declan Maxwell's assertion that they are due a "lucky break". "We've been knocking on the door for a while now, but we're still waiting for it to open for us," the big target man says. "Last year, Mayo beat us by a point in the Connacht championship and this year we lost narrowly to Galway. And it's been a similar story in the qualifiers. We're not that far off the mark, but we need that bit of luck to move onto the next level." The All-Ireland qualifier system has been in operation since 2001, but remarkably Leitrim are still awaiting their first back door win. It has been suggested that the Connacht championship remains the be all and end all for the country's less populous county, but Maxwell insists this isn't the case at all. "We go out every year with the intention of winning the Connacht championship, but to say that we don't take the qualifiers seriously enough is wrong. We're not proud of our record in the qualifiers, but what is often overlooked is the fact that we've had very tough draws. "We've been unlucky to come up against high-profile teams like Dublin, Meath and Donegal in the first round over the last few years. Last year was our best chance to make progress, but we missed enough scoring chances to win two games against Sligo and paid a costly price. If we could get one win in the qualifiers, we could take off," he adds. In what was Dessie Dolan's third season at the helm, Leitrim fared reasonably well in Division 2A of the National League. The green and golds recorded a thrilling victory over Offaly in their first outing at Cloone, but the campaign was to be overshadowed by a venue row with London. The controversial tie was originally scheduled for February 25, but was postponed at the eleventh hour due to a waterlogged pitch at Ruislip. Leitrim officials were furious at the postponement and estimated that they spent EUR17,000 on flights and accommodation. Leitrim strongly argued that they shouldn't have to travel to the English capital a second time, and at one stage the re-fixture was pencilled in for Newbridge, Co. Kildare. However, following a London appeal, the game was rescheduled for Ruislip and Leitrim had to work hard for a 0-13 to 0-10 victory. Leitrim finished joint-third in Division 2A with Longford, thus avoiding Division 4 in next year's restructured National League and elimination to the Tommy Murphy Cup, the final of which they had unsuccessfully contested against Louth in 2006. "The division was so tight that we could have ended up in Division 2, 3 or 4 next year. If we had beaten Monaghan in our last game in Cloone (Seamus McEnaney's side won by 1-14 to 2-10) and Offaly had beaten Roscommon (Ros' won 4-11 to 1-16), we would have been in Division 2 next year and have qualified for the Division 2 semi-finals. "As it transpired, we ended up in Division 3 which wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to us. Four teams have dropped down from the old Division 1 this year, so we can expect some good, hard games." Dessie Dolan's charges made their third trip to Ruislip in a matter of months to face London in the opening round of the Connacht championship on May 27. Showing the greater improvement from their league clash, Leitrim were more convincing winners than what the 1-12 to 2-5 scoreline suggests. The visitors dominated the early exchanges and should have scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes. In spite of this, they were leading by 0-8 to 0-2 when London brought themselves back into contention with a Chris Donnellan goal. This stung Leitrim into action as a quick point in reply from James Glancy was followed by a goal from Donal Brennan. Leading by 1-9 to 1-2 at the break, Leitrim went on to extend their lead to eight points before London had two players sent off. To their credit, though, the Exiles never gave up and they got some reward for their efforts when substitute Niall Clinton scored a late consolation goal. "We were glad to get out of London with a win. They would always fancy their chances against Leitrim and we've never had it easy against them. Ruislip is a tight pitch and it's not easy to win over there," Maxwell explains. A new chapter in Leitrim GAA history began on June 24 with the opening of the superb new EUR3 million stand at Pairc Sean MacDiarmada. But it was the same old story for them on the field, as another brave performance came up short. With a Connacht final date with Sligo on offer, Dessie Dolan's charges dug deep and had hot favourites Galway in bother for long periods in front of a typically passionate Carrick-on-Shannon crowd. But while Leitrim matched Galway in the defensive and midfield departments, their lack of serious forward power proved once more their undoing, as they eventually succumbed to a 1-10 to 0-17 defeat. In contrast, Galway were able to pick off points when they were most needed, with all six of their forwards finding the target by half-time. Leitrim troubled Galway most when they played direct high ball into Maxwell, but at times the service was laboured and this allowed Galway to get men back to defend in numbers. Gary McCloskey gave the home side a dream start when he netted early and they were 1-3 to 0-3 to the good after 14 minutes. But Galway recovered to take a 0-9 to 1-5 lead into the break. The Tribesmen had extended their advantage to 0-15 to 1-7 before points from Ciaran Duignan, Fintan McBrien and Maxwell left two between the sides going into stoppage time. However, late scores from Sean Armstrong and Nicky Joyce quenched Leitrim's brave effort. "We were very disappointed to lose to Galway for a number of reasons. It was a big day for the county with the opening of the new stand and we knew that if we could play to our potential we could take Galway at home. "But we missed a lot of chances and on top of that, three or four of the lads felt they didn't play up to their usual standards," the Drumreilly clubman recalls. In Donegal, Leitrim were handed a difficult All-Ireland qualifier first round draw but at least they had the consolation of having home advantage against the National League champions. Leitrim made a fine start with points from Ciaran Duignan and Fintan McBrien in the fourth and sixth minutes respectively. Michael Hegarty replied for Donegal, but Leitrim had opened up a 0-5 to 0-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. A Duignan free made it 0-6 to 0-2 after 24 minutes, but Donegal finished the half strongly and Michael Murphy's 35th minute goal gave them an undeserved 1-5 to 0-6 interval lead. The Ulster side surged three points clear after the restart, but Leitrim remained in touch and points from corner back Dermot Reynolds and James Glancy had them just two adrift with 10 minutes remaining. When Donegal restored their three-point advantage, it looked as if they had done enough but in the seventh minute of stoppage time, Glancy forced extra-time with a dramatic equalizing goal for the home side. In the first period of extra-time, Donegal outscored Leitrim by 0-3 to 0-0 to establish a 1-14 to 1-11 lead at the break. Ciaran Duignan, who had been reintroduced to the Leitrim attack, hit a brace of points on the restart to reduce the deficit to the minimum, but they couldn't gain parity and Eamonn McGee's late, late point sealed a 1-16 to 1-14 win for the visitors, who were mightily relieved to hear the final whistle. "A bit like Galway, they seemed to get their scores easier than us," admits Maxwell, who Donegal manager Brian McIver had identified as the biggest single threat to his side before the Pairc Sean showdown. "Even though they were the league champions, we didn't fear them, especially as we had drawn with them in the first round of the league last year. As well, they were coming off the back of a heavy defeat to Tyrone, so we knew we had a decent chance. "We got off to a great start, but they gradually came back into it and it was tit for tat all the way to the finish. It was tough to lose after extra-time, but you've got to accept these things and try to come back stronger." Looking ahead to 2008, Declan says: "I think playing in Division 3 will stand us in good stead for the championship. We'll be getting tough games and that can only be a good thing. "Dessie Dolan has a settled team at this stage and we're hoping to make our mark on the championship, starting with a win over New York in the first round." And maybe Leitrim's luck will finally change in the year ahead. Tweet

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