Leitrim manager Steven Poacher heaped praise on his players after today’s Connacht SFC quarter-final victory over Sligo.

The 3-15 to 1-20 win at Markievicz Park marked a first victory for Leitrim against the Yeats men in 15 long years and the now get set to face Galway in the semi-finals of the western province on April 25th.

 "It's 15 years of hurt and it's worth it today,” Poacher told RTE Sport afterwards. “The journey these lads have been on, I can't even begin to tell you the journey these lads have been on. It's astonishing.

"This is a young group. I don't think people realise. I think we've five Under-20s on the field there at the end. I think there are 12 or 13 lads probably under the age of 22 or 23 finishing the match.

"That is a Sligo team that's further on down the road than us. A Sligo team that have aspirations of being in Division 2 and contesting Tailteann Cups.

"Today will do the world of good for these lads, but what they'll do, and I told them inside before we went out today, I said 'you will inspire a generation of young Leitrim lads here today if you can pull this off’.

"Every one of them to a tee, including their six subs, the blood sub, the five changes, they worked their socks off until there was nothing left to give.

"And you know what? They deserve that. They deserve that and it's fantastic to see.

"Leitrim are a proud county, and I'm just really looking forward now to Galway in two weeks' time."

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