Leitrim’s dreams of a shock were demolished in the first 20 minutes as a rampant Fingal scored nine points without reply as nerves clearly seemed to get the better of Leitrim.

It was always going to be tough after such a start but displaying plenty of resolve, Kevin Glancy’s side cut a 12 point gap down to nine and actually had the Fingal contingent slightly nervous with less than 15 minutes to go.

Unfortunately, a disastrously soft goal ripped the heart out of the Leitrim challenge – keeper Fintan McKiernan uncharacteristically fooled by the flight of a long range shot that ended up in his net.

In a cruel way, the goal summed up Leitrim’s day – Fingal’s superior stick-work meant they just seemed to get scores much easier and all of Leitrim’s admirable effort couldn’t overcome the north Dublin’s side skill.

Fingal were determined to set the agenda early on and five points in the first five minutes meant Leitrim were always chasing the game, particularly around the middle of the field where they just couldn’t get going.

Perhaps the siting of James Glancy at centre-back back-fired as the St. Mary’s was by-passed. The reasoning was sound in that Glancy’s skill at centre-back would hold the defence together but with Fingal so much on top at midfield and their own half-back line, Glancy was left in no man’s land.

When Glancy did move out to support Clement Cunniffe, Leitrim started to develop some momentum but Fingal were up and running at that stage.

In fairness, Fingal were very good and looked a step above what Leitrim face in the Allianz League. Strong down the centre and boasting great skill in the attack, Fingal made scoring look remarkably easy at times.

It wasn’t that Fingal were given easy scores but their stickwork and ability to gather the sliothar, turn and strike accurately from all distances was something that Leitrim couldn’t emulate.

Leitrim never gave up but with precise passing and great handling skills, Fingal could turn defence into attack in the space of one well-directed delivery that gave the hard-working Leitrim defence no chance.

However, it was still a year of progress for Leitrim – the new rule regarding the eligibility of outside players has obviously made a huge difference but more important was the attitude of those involved, determined as they were to make an impact.

Clement Cunniffe and James Glancy continue to be the driving force of this Leitrim side, even if they struggled to get into last Saturday’s encounter. But the fact remains that most of Leitrim’s good work came through these two.

James Keane at full-back was outstanding under ferocious pressure last Saturday and was unlucky to be harshly penalised a couple of times. He held together a defence that was under fierce pressure but never cracked completely.

Stephen Feeney and Niall Glancy have improved immeasurably while Mick Burns worked his socks off with little reward.