Leitir Móir’s goals touch can get them over the line again

By Pádraic Ó Ciardha

TRAINING over Christmas has often been a big sacrifice for teams in their provincial and All-Ireland club campaigns and the footballers of Naomh Anna, Leitir Móir were forced to abandon the festivities this time as they prepared for Saturday’s Connacht Intermediate Final (Pearse Stadium, 1.30pm) against St Faitheach’s of Roscommon.

Of all the Christmases to skip, however, that of 2021 probably wasn’t the worst. “No one was missing anything anyway,” laughs Naomh Anna manager Ciarán Óg Ó Flatharta. “There wasn’t much to be doing, only keep training.”

The Naomh Anna players trained on the 23rd of December and did at least have Christmas Day and Stephen’s Day to themselves before focusing again on the task at hand. Covid-19 and the Omicron variant has caused problems in every part of the county over the last month, however, and it was no different back in the islands that make up Ceantar na nOileán in Connemara.

“We’ve been missing a lot over the last couple of weeks between lads who were isolating or lads who had Covid,” explains Ó Flatharta. “We’d often have over 30 training with us but we were down to 18 or 19 some nights. It was hard to plan at times but the lads affected are coming back now, thank God, and hopefully we’ll have everyone ready for the weekend.”

Their opponents in the final, St Faithleach’s, have been in the same boat. The final was originally set for last weekend but both teams, independently of each other, asked the Connacht Council that it be put back to allow players to return. That wish was granted and, hopefully, Covid won’t have an outcome on what happens on the pitch on Saturday.

Even if Naomh Anna were to find themselves missing a number of players, there would be few who’ve seen them this year who would write them off. The Connemara men have looked dead and buried on a number of occasions but, somehow, they’ve pulled out a result when needed.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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