Big Apple to the core — but can they upset odds?

CONNACHT SFC QUARTER FINAL

The recycled Big Apple and Fairytales of New York headlines began to wear thin as the pendulum swung and the GAA world suddenly contemplated the possibility of a breakthrough with intrigue and morbid fascination.

When the Exiles started to believe their own hype in 2011, Roscommon knocked them down a couple of pegs. After the newly installed management team cleared house during the mild winter leading into last year’s Connacht championship opener against Sligo, the grand experiment was swatted away with 24 points to spare.

And maybe that was the best thing that ever happened.

There’s a happy medium in the Bronx now. On Tuesday night, when the long shadows stretched down Gaelic Park as the subway clicked back towards the city, the team for tomorrow’s game against Leitrim was about to be announced in the far dressing room under the tracks.

A dozen stalwarts have recommitted to this strange cause, putting their faith in manager Connie Molloy and trainer Mickey Coleman, an All-Ireland winner with Tyrone. The pair are now in their second season.

“We’ve revamped the whole panel this year,” Molloy told The Irish Examiner prior to joining his players.

“Stronger, better footballers. Senior footballers. Last year we had guys on that panel that had only played junior football here so we were backed into a corner. We had to do what we had to do.

“But this year we’ve brought in a lot of quality. No reflection on last year but it’s definitely an upgrade on 2012.

“That was my first year managing and we didn’t get the response we were expecting. We were hoping some of the better players would come on board and it didn’t quite happen.

“We have something similar this year. There are some players not here who should be here but that’s their choice. You can only bring the horse to the water … you can’t make him drink it.”

Former Monaghan forward Rory Woods is back although he will be carrying a knock and is named at full-forward. Centre forward Jason Kelly, who played on and off for Offaly, returns to the panel after giving last year a skip while CJ Molloy, son of Connie, is one of just two players to keep their spot in the starting 15 after the Sligo setback.

“Last year we were in tough shape with the boys we put out there,” admitted native New Yorker CJ, a 24-year-old Masters student at Iona College.

“No fault on them — the effort was still there. The talent level may not have been. This year we have Jason coming back in, Conor Lynam is back, so is Rory Woods. The talent is definitely there this year.

“All these boys played senior football in Ireland. Whereas last year, there were a lot of neophytes, a lot of young Americans.”

Now that they’re out the other side and there seems to be a level of stability and commitment, Molloy isn’t alone in feeling that the upheaval in the lead-up to last May was a necessary evil.

“I think it absolutely needed to happen for us to get a bit of discipline this year. We had 40 guys available to us for training at the start of the year which is unheard of in New York. I’ve been involved for six years now and you’d be lucky to get an average of 18, 20 players out training. This winter was pretty rough and we were getting huge numbers. We had fellas out shovelling snow which just goes to show the dedication. When you’re selecting from a small pool, you need everybody. You can’t be too picky. But I think the message was sent that it’s just as serious as football back in Ireland. This is county football and needs to be treated as such.”

How else could Leitrim or any Connacht team ever view a trip across the Atlantic as anything but an unknown quantity? But that’s not necessarily seen as an advantage by a panel of New York players who don’t know themselves.

“The biggest difference is having no competitive games,” points out the quietly spoken Scally who has been in the US for a year and a half. “You can’t judge yourself against other teams. But there’s nothing much you can do about it. We’ve seen a few DVDs and we’ve prepared as much as we can.”

Jason Kelly is here four years now and the privilege of playing for New York is ingrained in him.

“It’s different when you’re just out here for the summer or for six months,” he says. “When you’re here longer term, it’s your county. Year in, year out.

“There is a pride there. If you’re living here years, it gets stronger. You’re playing in Gaelic Park all summer.

“New York haven’t been doing well the last couple of years so this is our chance to prove there’s a good county team here.”

Kelly bristles when he brings up the odds stacked against his side and CJ Molloy mutters the 10-point handicap through gritted teeth before glancing away.

“They don’t give New York much of a chance any year,” Kelly points out.

“We would think of Leitrim — no disrespect — as one of the weaker teams in Connacht. They haven’t had a good league. They’ll be coming here and they won’t know what to expect.

“There’s never pressure on us here. Even the Irish living here, it’s just a day out for them. If we can hold Leitrim to five or six points, everyone seems to be happy. Which is fair enough considering our preparation is so different with no challenge games.

“The lads are positive. We’ve been training well. There’s a good core of players, everyone of them has played county at some level. If we can get a good start on them, put some pressure on, you never what could happen … take the game to them at our pace, put doubts in their heads and let them chase us ... that’s our aim.”

LEITRIM: C McCrann; A Wynne, F McMorrow, P Maguire; D Beck, G Reynolds, W McKeon; T Beirne, D Sweeney; P Brennan, E Mulligan, G Hickey; K Conlon, J Glancy, R Lowe.

NEW YORK: G Joyce (Ballymartin, Down); D Jackson (Henry Joy McCracken’s, Derry), M O’Regan (Eire Óg, Clare), P Lambe (Magheracloone, Monaghan); L Maguire (Clones, Monaghan), K Scally (Tyrrellspass, Westmeath), A Raferty (Oranmore-Maree, Galway); CJ Molloy (New York), G O’Driscoll (Skellig Rangers, Kerry); E Ward (Carrigallen, Leitrim), J Kelly (Shannonbridge, Offaly), C Lynam (St Loman’s, Westmeath); M Annett (Mayobridge, Down), R Woods (Donaghmoyne, Monaghan), J Burke (Corofin, Galway).