New York did not manage to pull off the upset against Sligo yesterday, but you couldn't help but come away from the game impressed with their performance. They pushed the visitors all the way, with the contest very much still in the balance as it entered the dying moments.
Unfortunately for the Gaelic Park crowd, Sligo would run out as 1-16 to 0-15 winners.
It was certainly a much closer contest than many expected, especially when you consider that New York had not played in a championship game since 2019 due to the pandemic. It will also offer up some hope that their fortunes will improve in the near future, perhaps even targeting a first ever victory in the provincial championship.
The makeup of the team is also changing. Whereas it previously consisted of immigrants who moved to New York, there are now a number of American-born players in the panel.
That includes captain Jamie Boyle, who was immensely proud of his team's efforts against Sligo. He also summed up why it was so important to add a local dimension to the team.
'It's nice to hopefully turn the tide here in New York'@NewYorkGAA captain Jamie Boyle spoke to @Darrenfrehill after today's Connacht SFC meeting in New York #RTEGAA pic.twitter.com/xaxtUkxcYo
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 17, 2022
I'm extremely proud. Not one man quit out there today. We said since day one of camp on this field out here that we would die on every ball.
We've got 41 guys on the panel, so the second that someone got a bit tired or showed that they needed to come off it was next man up. I'm extremely proud of how we fought, we stayed in it until the end...
We've been saying we're in our own little bubble here. Even the people in New York, not that they haven't been supportive, but there are a lot of doubts here and a lot of people saying we don't have a chance.
We heard that before we got into camp, and everyone once we got here kept to ourselves and blocked out all the noise. It's nice to now hopefully turn the tide around here in New York. It was a good performance and I'm extremely proud of everyone...
It's very important (to have American players in the squad). Like you said, it is growing. A lot of guys we had starting there were 21-years old, so there's a great youth movement here in New York.
I'm one of the older guys, I'm 30 and at the tail end of it, but it's awesome. Even at club level, the talent is with the 20 to 25-year olds.
This is definitely the start of something. The management and Johnny McGeeney are building something special here for the years to come.
I said it to someone else, it's nice when the young New York kids can come to the game and see familiar faces. They see the Mikey Brosnans, the Shane Brosnans, Peter Cronins out on the field and they can cheer for them and think 'that kid is from my neighbourhood, I could be out there'.
While this will be the end of New York's involvement in this year's championship, they will be hoping that this fixture can act as a building block moving forward.
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