Guckian targeting glory after Leitrim bounce back
Michelle Aoibhinn Left, Captain Guckian, Mchugh Tyrone Leitrim Pic: Ben Mcshane/sportsfile And Captain
A few days after Leitrim's Division 4 league semi-final defeat to Limerick last March, they reconvened for training.
Michelle Guckian remembers the chat and the sense of it being a crossroads in their season.
The disappointment was palpable but the ambition to regroup was even stronger.
"We'd been trying to get out of Division 4 for a good while and didn't have a great end to the league and I remember going back to training on the Wednesday after the semi-final and us having a little talk to ourselves," said Guckian, the team captain.
"We knew the talent and the ability in the group and that if we put our minds to it, we could compete with the best at intermediate level."
That's been proven because Leitrim have bounced back impressively and will make a rare Croke Park outing on Sunday when they face Tyrone in the All-Ireland decider. Leitrim last won this title in 2007.
"I was in the stand as a supporter, I was 14," smiled Guckian.
A full 17 years on, she could get her hands on the cup this time. The signs are positive because they've already beaten Tyrone, edging a 4-12 to 5-8 opening-round thriller in Ballinamore in early June.
"That absolutely counts for nothing," maintained Guckian, who scored 1-5. "Tyrone are a brilliant, brilliant team. They have an advantage over us in so far as they played at Croke Park in a league final this year and they're up to Division 1. It's going to be a completely different game, we know that.
"Different pitch, different atmosphere. The excitement, the nerves, everything is going to play a part in that. But look, we know that we can prove ourselves in the tough games too.
"Against Roscommon and against Wexford, we lifted our game too. We know we can do it and we just hope we can prove it on the big day."