Longford aim to go from zero to heroes

HAVING beaten the team with the lowest profile in football, Longford progress to a meeting with Dublin and the attention that goes with it.

Championship football in July against the mighty Dubs is simply uncharted territory for Longford and manager Denis Connerton is unsure what to expect.

“It’s a tough draw but we can’t expect anything else at this stage of the season. The other seven teams would all have been looking to draw Longford and that’s just the way it is,” Connerton said.

“It’s hard to know how that will affect our lads in the week ahead.

“On the plus side, you play football to play against teams like Dublin. In many ways it’s a dream draw for us. They’re still the Manchester United of Gaelic football so there’s no point in us feeling sorry for ourselves.

“They gave us a fair beating in the 2001 championship in Croke Park so we know what Dublin are capable of, but we’ll look forward to it and give it our very best.”

Dublin may be favourites to advance to the last round of the qualifiers, but have failed to reach the heights of the 2001 season.

Connerton feels Tommy Lyons is closer to the elusive formula that could kick-start their campaign.

“Dublin are getting closer to a settled team. They put up a good score against what is widely regarded as a fantastic Leitrim defence. Roscommon couldn’t do that and they are in a Connacht final, so you have to respect what Dublin did on Saturday. 1-13 is a very good score and I’d say Tommy Lyons left Carrick-on-Shannon happy.”

Leitrim manager Declan Rowley resigned after that defeat but he may yet play his part in Dublin’s downfall this year. A Longford native, Rowley played against Connerton and could renew acquaintances as the week progresses.

Stephen Lynch, the man who punched the winning goal against Kerry back in February, is still struggling for fitness after damaging his ankle in a club game some weeks back and is unlikely to play while a back injury is likely to rule out John Kenny.

Whatever the line-up, Connerton will be demanding an improved performance from their weekend trip to Portlaoise.

“We played very well in the first- half and then did nothing in the second-half. It was a no-win situation for us really,” said Connerton.

“We went down there to win and we did that. We went in as favourites against Carlow in Leinster and lost so we wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.”