New York captain Jamie Boyle said he was confident his side's stirring performance in their narrow loss to Sligo in Gaelic Park on Sunday represented "the start of something" for GAA in the city.
Playing their first competitive match since 2019 - Covid-19 having forced their omission from the past two campaigns - New York unexpectedly took Sligo to the brink in their Connacht championship opener, Niall Madine levelling the game with just three minutes of normal time remaining before a late Sligo burst carried the visitors home.
While the New York side boasted a few familiar faces from home, the Galway duo of Johnny Glynn and Adrian Varley as well as ex-Cork hurler Mark Ellis among them, their starting XV is increasingly American-accented, with native born New Yorkers now central to their efforts.
Chief among that crop is captain Jamie Boyle, who spoke of his pride at the display after the four-point defeat.
"Not one man quit out there today. We said since day one in camp here when we started on this field that we're going to die on every ball," Boyle told RTÉ Sport after the game.
"We got 41 guys on the panel, so the second somebody got tired, the second somebody showed they needed to come off, it was next man up.
'It's nice to hopefully turn the tide here in New York'@NewYorkGAA captain Jamie Boyle spoke to @Darrenfrehill after today's Connacht SFC meeting in New York #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/xaxtUkxcYo
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 17, 2022
"Extremely proud of how we fought. We stayed in it 'til the end. They went up a goal, nobody put their heads down. That does a number on Sligo too. To see 'alright we just scored a goal and now they're back in our faces'. So, extremely proud."
It's far from the first time New York have given teams a fright in the Connacht championship. Leitrim were twice taken to extra-time, in 2002 and 2017 (the reaction after the latter more disappointment than pride, with an opportunity missed), while Roscommon only squeezed home by a point in 2016.
However, Sunday's contest was possibly the most unexpected of their close shaves, given the lengthy stretch without a game. Boyle said his squad had managed to shut out the doom-mongers and expressed hope that the prevalence of native New Yorkers in the team would inspire the local youth.
"Even the people in New York, not to say they're not supportive but there's a lot of doubts here. There's a lot of people saying we don't have a chance. We heard that before we got into the camp and then once we got here, we blocked out all the noise.
"It's nice to hopefully turn the tide around here in New York. This is definitely the start of something. Management and Johnny McGeeney are building something great here for years to come.
"It's nice when the young New York kids in the stands come to the game and see familiar faces. They see the Mikey Brosnans, the Shane Brosnans, the Peter Cronins out on the field and they can cheer for them and say 'hey, that kid's from my neighbourhood, I can be out there.' It's huge."
Sligo manager Tony McEntee, meanwhile, admitted he was relieved to get out with a win, paying tribute to the hosts.
"D'you know it was a good game, in a lot of aspects. And it's a great occasion, a field like this in the middle of New York.
"But I am relieved, New York had three or four reasonable chances and had any one of them gone in, we would have been under serious pressure
'Im relieved - New York had three or four chances there and if any of them had gone in we'd have under serious pressure'
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 17, 2022
Tony McEntee @sligogaa spoke to @Darrenfrehill after today's Connacht SFC meeting in New York #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/YyuSBSNZLX
"We had a perfect three days in New York. We came Thursday evening and everything went well, as you might expect, except for the performance on the field. But I think credit on this occasion has to be given to New York.
"I thought they played really well, took the game to us. We made a lot of mistakes. But they didn't wane. You were thinking, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, 60 minutes, they would drop off. But that wasn't the case. So on this occasion, I think it's credit to New York."
