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Justin O'Halloran predicts Jamie Clarke may be the man to lead New York into the promised land of a first ever championship victory on Sunday.

It's 20 years since the team from the Big Apple entered the Connacht championship and the clash with Leitrim at Gaelic Park is seen as their best chance to break that duck.

With the Bronx-based ground celebrating the 90th anniversary since the first game was played there, it would be a timely victory for the exiles.

After a one-point loss to Galway in 2016 and last year's good contest with Sligo, New York boss O'Halloran points to the arrival of Armagh ace Clarke as a potential match-winner.

(Image: ©INPHO/Presseye/Matt Mackey)

Clarke showed well in the recent challenge game against current All-Ireland club champions Corofin, a 13-point win for the hosts in Brooklyn against the weakened and jet-lagged Galwegians.

"Jamie Clarke is a very good footballer, a very good lad and is a great outlet for us in the forward line," said O'Halloran.

"He played very well against Corofin, so hopefully he can do it again next Sunday.

"Leitrim are going to have to pay a lot of attention to him and even if he doesn't get a score, he'll take defenders out of the way for our other forwards and that will be a huge boost to us.

"But yeah, holding Jamie Clarke scoreless is a very tough job now.

"The Corofin game went very well, I'd be honest we played very well.

"We went at it hard if not quite up to championship speed.

"But we had been playing in-house games for the last two months and it was getting a little bit stale, the same players marking each other all the time.

"So it revamped the camp a little bit, and we feel good after it."

This year is no different for New York in terms of player turnover, with O'Halloran calculating that around half of the side that lost to Sligo having left for home.

Brian Connor, Richie's son, just failed in his bid to make it back from a cruciate ligament injury in time to be involved, while Danny Sutcliffe has returned to Dublin to rejoin the hurling set-up in the capital.

O'Halloran has one Leitrim native involved against his own county, Fergal Ellis, while there are two New York-born players in his panel - Shane Hogan and Mike Creegan. The latter's father hails from Leitrim.

"We were starting from scratch again," O'Halloran said.

Former Mayo stalwart Tom Cunniffe, who was on his county panel for over a decade, has been appointed as New York's captain.

"He's a very dedicated fellah, he's a great leader on and off the pitch and great with the younger players," explained O'Halloran.

"He's very experienced on the big day and that's why I went with him.

Asked if he was confident that New York can finally get over the line, the manager said: "You're always confident, no matter who the opposition is you have to be confident.

"But Leitrim are the best team on our schedule, so you have to be at your very best to beat them.

"If it comes off it comes off, if not there's nothing you can do about it".

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