Longford thought they had a chance to level the game right at the end; Keelin McGann took a shot which went wide but it appeared referee Liam Devanney had his hand up for advantage.
In an entertaining encounter Leitrim twice opened up a four-point advantage but Longford came back at them.
The sides were level three times in the opening quarter. Leitrim keeper Nevin O’Donnell opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a ‘45.
Leitrim were awarded a penalty in the 23rd minute when Dessie Reynolds fouled Barry McNulty. Ryan O’Riordan put away the penalty. He followed that up with a point to open up a three-point lead.
The sides traded points in the last 10 minutes of the first half. A point from Daniel Reynolds in stoppage time saw Longford trail 0-8 to 1-6 at the break.
Longford drew level in the 37th minute when Cathal McCabe pointed a mark. In the space of four minutes McNulty scored 1-1 for Andy Moran’s side. He fisted an effort over in the 38th minute and minutes later Leitrim overturned Longford possession, O’Riordan with the pass and McNulty with the finish past Paddy Collum.
Longford were rattled but the introduction of Mark Hughes made an impact. and there was action at both ends of the field. Leitrim were ahead by three on the hour mark but a fifth point from the fantastic Dessie Reynolds had the sides level again in the 68th minute.
There was more time for drama as Leitrim edged ahead again one minute later. Hughes kicked over a fine point in the third minute of stoppage time before McNulty fired over right at the end to earn Leitrim the win.
Scorers for Leitrm: B McNulty 1-4 (2f), Ryan O’Rourke 1-1 (1-0pen), N O’Donnell (2’45), Riordan O’Rourke 0-2 each, J Foley, D Rooney, Tom Prior 0-1 each. Longford: Dessie Reynolds 0-5, D Gallagher 0-4 (3fs), A Farrell, Daniel Reynolds 0-2 each, B Masterson, C McCabe (m), J Matthews, M Hughes 0-1 each.
Leitrim: N O’Donnell; A Reynolds, M Diffley, A Flynn; J McGreal, R Oberwan, J Foley; J Gilheany, P Dolan; B McNulty, Ryan O’Rourke, D Wrynn; Riordan O’Riordan, D Rooney, T Prior.
Subs: J Flynn for Oberwan (ht), J McGreal for Clancy (50), E Sweeney for Riordan O’Rourke (57), C Reynolds for McHugh (61), B Guckian for Dolan (65)
Longford: P Collum; P Fox, O O’Toole, B Masterson; J Hagan, R Moffett, Dessie Reynolds; D Gallagher, P Kiernan; A Farrell, D Farrell, Daniel Reynolds; Cathal McCabe, D Mimnagh, Jayson Matthews.
Subs: E Macken for D Farrell (31), M Hughes for Mimnagh (44), K McGann for Kiernan (50), J Macken for Matthews (56), C Scanlon for Daniel Reynolds (68)
Refere: Liam Devanney (Mayo)
