SUNDAY 6 MAY
1715 New York v Leitrim, Gaelic Park
ONLINE
Live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News Now App from 1700 on Sunday afternoon.
RADIO
Live commentary from Marty Morrissey on RTÉ Radio 1's Sport Extra from 7pm
TV
Highlights of the game will be shown on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm that night.
Past championship meetings
2013 New York 0-07 Leitrim 4-19
2008 New York 0-06 Leitrim 0-17
2003 New York 0-12 Leitrim 0-14
New York patiently await their first ever Championship win, but at the 20th time of asking, there is a growing belief that this could finally be their year.
Going by League standings, Leitrim are the lowest-ranked Connacht side they could possibly meet, and while New York manager Justin O’Halloran says the task is a difficult one after another huge turnover in personnel, they come into the contest confident of writing a bit of history.
Former Mayo defender Tom Cunniffe captain the side at Gaelic Park, and up front Jamie Clarke will be the focus of attention after throwing his lot in with the team earlier this year.
Such are the restrictions facing New York, only a draw means a second day out in the 2018 Championship. Should Leitrim fall to a defeat on Sunday, they will be drawn against one of the other 16 counties to lose a first-round match in a preliminary qualifier.
The trip to the Big Apple is always fraught with danger for the travelling team, though with Emlyn Mulligan at centre-forward, the home defence is likely to be tested throughout.
FORM GUIDE
The annual plight for New York is the lack of form owing to the dearth of opponents. O’Halloran admitted that things had become "a little stale" with repeated internal games in training, which was why the recent visit of Corofin for a challenge game was welcome relief all round. A 13-point victory enhanced the occasion.
It was a topsy-turvy for Leitrim in the League’s bottom tier.
They began with three defeats - a creditable showing against eventual champions Laois sandwiched in between 10 and 12-point defeats respectively to Antrim and Carlow. The weather put paid a trip to London, while the game with Waterford also failed to see the light of day.
They concluded the stop-start campaign with a 2-15 to 0-10 victory over Wicklow.
Player to watch:
Jamie Clarke (New York)
With a number of near misses in their 20-year history in the Connacht Championship, the Exiles will be hoping the addition of a marquee forward like Jamie Clarke could tip the scales in their balance. The odds on a New York victory dropped considerably when he joined the panel.
"Leitrim are going to have to pay a lot of attention to him and even if he doesn’t get a score, he’ll bring defenders out of the way for our other forwards and that should be a huge boost to us," O’Halloran said this week.
Armagh’s loss is New York’s gain.
Manager watch:
Justin O’Halloran (New York): The Cavan native is facing into his third campaign in the New York hotseat having succeed Ian Galvin. A one-point defeat to Roscommon was followed last year by an eight-point loss to Sligo.
Brendan McGuckian (Leitrim): McGuckian’s reign as Leitrim manager began last year with a win in Ruislip, before they came crashing down to earth with a 17-point hammering from Roscommon in the Connacht semi-final. Their campaign ended at the first hurdle of the qualifiers away to Carlow.
TEAMS
For Leitrim, Mark Plunkett, Diarmuid McKiernan, Domhnaill Flynn and Jack Heslin will make their Championship debuts, with Flynn appearing at senior level for the first time after impressing in challenge games and training.
New York: Vinny Cadden; Neil Collins, Donal Ward, Colin Keane; Enda Williams, Tom Cunniffe, Matthew Queenan; David Culhane, Shane Hogan; Tony Donnelly, Jamie Clarke, Luke Kelly; Kevin O’Grady, Dalton McDonagh, David Freeman
Leitrim: Diarmuid McKiernan, Paddy Maguire, Micheal McWeeney, Oisín Madden, James Rooney, Donal Wrynn, Shane Quinn, Mark Plunkett, Domhnaill Flynn, Jack Heslin, Emlyn Mulligan, Ryan O’Rourke, Darragh Rooney, Keith Beirne, Brendan Gallagher
WEATHER
A cloudy day with showers is expected, with temperature highs of around 65F
