One of Carlow's best on the opposite side for huge clash

Former Carlow footballer, Daniel St Ledger, will be in his native county on Sunday when Leitrim come to Netwatch Cullen Park hoping for a victory which will deny the home side promotion and a place in the league final.

He and former Carlow coach, Steve Poacher, have formed part of the Leitrim management team for two years now and while they could still be promoted this weekend, it would take a lot of unlikely results for the Westerners to get into the top two places now.

“Our thought process is preparation for Sligo in the championship in three weeks’ time after the Carlow game. Even today (last Sunday against Longford) was preparation for the Sligo game. That is the only way to look at it,” says the former Kildavin-Clonegal footballer.

St Ledger steers himself away from what the win would mean for Carlow. He has to.

“I think it would be highly unprofessional to be letting my relationship or Stevie’s (past) relationship with Carlow become an influencing factor. The reality is that this week we will be asking our lads to do their own stuff right with Sligo in mind. That is ultimately where we are in this moment in time.

We would have preferred for this to be a promotion game from our point of view but that is not how it worked out,” he insists.

The 2026 league has thrown up all sorts of results.

Leitrim beat London away from home. The Exiles came to Longford and secured both points. After winning four games in succession, Carlow have now lost to both London and Longford. On any given day, results would suggest there is little between the teams.

“It is hard to fathom. I have never seen a Division 4 like it,” says St Ledger who sees himself as a selector, coach, a little bit of everything with Poacher in Leitrim.

St Ledger only touches on how he sees things from a Carlow point of view.

“To be fair, Carlow have been the standout team so far. They were probably caught cold the last two days. I have only looked at their Longford game when preparing for today. They missed a lot of chances which could possibly have won them the game.

“I would say for themselves it must be disappointing not to have the job done by now. To be honest, I thought they would have had the job done. Having said that, London impressed me when we were over there. London are a decent side.

“Carlow probably have been the most consistent but a little blip against Longford put pressure on them on Saturday. It is still in their hands. A massive opportunity. It would be great to see two Carlow promotions within the decade,” St Ledger suggests. 

And so, on Sunday, the player who won NFL 4 promotion eight years ago in Belfast will be helping to plot his native county’s downfall.

“It will be an unusual event. It is a massive time for Carlow. Obviously we got promotion in 2018 and for another chance to come along relatively quickly is a massive deal. It is a weird situation.”