'Our challenges are like no other' - Alan O'Mara proud of New York players' determination ahead of Mayo clash

They shovelled snow off fields so they could train, travelled hours on subways to make sessions, and their manager looked on with pride as a group of 40 players cleared the decks of their daily lives for the chance to play championship football.

This Sunday evening, (8pm Irish time) New York finally get their chance when they meet Mayo in the Connacht SFC quarter-final at Gaelic Park.

Once again, many of the squad are homegrown and, significantly, there remains a healthy link in personnel to last year’s panel.

New manager Alan O’Mara says he doesn’t know what Sunday’s game will bring but he does know how much effort his men have put in. And that reassures him.

"How proud I am of the work that this New York team has done this year, that’s the first thing I have to mention," O’Mara, the former Cavan goalkeeper said.

"Our challenges and our schedule are like no other. Our players have to be very self-motivating because it is not always glamorous. But the work they have put in has been phenomenal and now the Mayo game is around the corner.

"That game is obviously going to be a huge challenge but the way I see it is that it’s also a huge opportunity for us to go toe to toe with one of the best teams in the country. And that’s a brilliant
opportunity to get. In my view, we go for it and then reflect on it and it’s a match I am very excited for."

O’Mara says that if the panel had a dollar for every time the players have been told they have no hope, they’d be a wealthy bunch.

"There is no shortage of people who tell you that we don't have a chance, but we know what we are trying to achieve and now we get an opportunity to prove it to ourselves. We compete hard as a group and we enjoy pushing each other on so that’s what we work