St Brigid's face Leitrim champions in Connacht opener

Tomorrow (Sunday) St Brigid's begin their defence of the Connacht club championship against Melvin Gaels of Leitrim. Following their recent victory over Padraig Pearses in the Roscommon SFC final which marked the Kiltoom/Cam outfit's third successive county title win - they begin the defence of the provincial title on home soil (throw-in 2.30pm) in the Connacht Club SFC Preliminary Round (quarter-final) fixture. Ronan Stack of St Brigid's said the local club can't afford to look beyond the encounter with the visitors from the Ridge County. "It's always St Brigid's seasonal goal to get out of the county, which is never easy, and then to win the Connacht title. But we can't afford to look beyond the next game, though people will want to see a big game against Salthill-Knocknacarra. It's a case of one step at a time," said Stack. Melvin Gaels will be rank outsiders for tomorrow's game at Newpark, having won their first Leitrim senior title since 1998 with a 2-7 to 0-7 win over holders Glencar/Manorhamilton, with James Phelan and Jesse McGuinness notching the goals. St Brigid's defeated Glencar/Manor' in the Connacht championship in November 2010, on a 1-13 to 3-5 scoreline at Carrick-on-Shannon.