THE 2023 CONNACHT senior championship ignited with a seismic shock in the Bronx on Saturday night as New York beat Leitrim on penalties to earn their first-ever win in the competition.
The sides were level at 0-15 apiece after extra-time, with New York winning 2-0 on spot-kicks. Leitrim contrived to miss all of their penalties, with Niall Madine and Mikey Brosnan converting to create history and send New York into a Connacht semi-final away to Sligo, who beat London in Ruislip earlier today.
If New York can win that game, they will quite remarkably qualify for the Connacht final and form part of the new-look Sam Maguire series. Leitrim, on the wrong end of history, now head for the Tailteann Cup.
Leitrim will have regrets beyond their awful shootout, having missed several goal chances during a tense clash. Shane Carthy, once of Dublin, kept his nerve seven minutes into stoppage time to level the sides at 0-13 apiece, setting up extra-time.
The sides traded scores before Connell Ahearne put New York ahead at the midway point of extra-time. They needed penalties to seal an astonishing victory, however, with Keith Beirne landing another equaliser for Leitrim.
But in a fraught and hectic shootout, it was New York who kept their nerve to jump-start the Championship and make history.
Written by The42 Team
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