Following two away victories in the qualifiers, Longford footballer Mickey Quinn is hopeful that home advantage can propel his team to the fourth round of the qualifiers.
Few expected Longford to overcome Monaghan last time out, but the Leinster side produced one of the shocks of the summer to defeat last year's Ulster champions on their own patch.
We need your consent to load this SoundCloud contentWe use SoundCloud to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The momentum within the team is in stark contrast to earlier this season when manager Denis Connerton admitted he was so exasperated with the “extremely poor” preparations for the Leinster campaign that he was readying himself for the qualifiers prior to the defeat to Offaly.
“It’s like chalk and cheese,” Quinn admitted, who has been a central figure in the team since his return from AFL in 2012.
The three-point win in Clones raised eyebrows right across the country, but while the centre-back says he was “quietly confident” of a positive result, was happy to savour a memorable day in the county’s history.
“Being from Longford, you automatically have that thought that you don’t get those kind of days too often,” he told The Jones’ Road podcast.
“When they do come around, it makes them that bit more special.”
Reflecting on their latest qualifier scalp, Quinn says their start - he raised a green flag as Longford raced into a 1-01 to 0-00 lead - was crucial and key in laying the foundations for victory.
“Monaghan decided to play with the wind,” he said.
“It suited us because we worked hard on a good start. The longer we stayed in the game, the longer we knew we had a good chance."
The 26-year-old is a pivotal figure in the heart of the defence, but his ability on the ball means he is the launch pad for many attacks, though Monaghan's tactical approach forced him into a different role to the one he is normally accustomed to.
Vinnie Corry was never far from his attentions and the Killoe Young Emmets believes the challenge was good for the development of his game.
“It was different and something I will learn from too. You’d have more freedom on the ball against other teams.
“In one sense it might have hampered my game as played a more natural centre-back role as a result of that.
“I didn’t break forward and probably sucked out one of their key forwards."
Standing in the way of the fourth round qualifiers is Cork, who after an unexpected defeat in the Munster SFC, bounced back with a comfortable win over Limerick at the weekend.
After away visits to Newry Park and Clones, Quinn is hopeful that the home comforts of Pearse Park will prove crucial with the short turnaround.
“Any advantage you can get you take and that’s what we’re hoping for next weekend,” he said.
“That one week, you have enough time to recover for yourself and do a little bit of work on the opposition, but worry about yourself. Two weeks, it’s ideal. One week is a challenge.”
