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You are > Home > Potential evident in U-21 team
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Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Potential evident in U-21 team
The first silverware of 2010 came to the county on Saturday last when the U-21 footballers captured the Hastings Cup for the fourth time in a row.
It was an entertaining game but it was almost farcical mainly because of the late start.
I hadn’t heard that the game was put back an hour because of the funeral of the late great Mick Higgins in Virginia.
I arrived at Michael Fay Park at 2.20 p.m. and was surprised to see no Roscommon people there.
I was joined by Des from Kilmore who was also surprised at the absence of our fellow Rossies.
A team in royal blue was warming up out on the pitch. We both thought it was the Cavan U-21 team.
There was no sign of the Roscommon team. It was only when we got the match programmes that we realised that the throw-in time was 3.30 p.m. By about 2.40 p.m a team in white and blue took the pitch.
A referee emerged and threw in the ball to start the game. It was only ten minutes later that I discovered that it was a senior football challenge between Longford and Cavan. The team in white were Cavan.
It was an uninspiring game and I was glad to leave it to watch the Roscommon team warming up.
The second-half of the challenge game was starting at 3.15 p.m. which suggested that the Hastings Cup final would be a late starter.
The senior game ended at 3.45 p.m. and the U-21 game eventually got under way at 3.50 p.m. It was lucky that it was a bright evening.
The “extra-time if necessary” notice on the programme drew the comment from a Roscommon supporter that they must have longer daylight in Longford than in Roscommon.
The late start undermined the competition. It is understandable that Cavan people would need time to pay tribute to Mick Higgins.
He had won three All-Ireland medals with the county and was the last player to captain a Cavan team to win the Sam Maguire.
That was in 1952. It was ironical, however, that the Cavan seniors were playing a challenge game while the rest of the county was mourning.
The Cavan U-21 team entered the final with a big reputation. Roscommon started the better and had three points on the scoreboard in the first seven minutes due to the accurate kicking of Donal Shine and Paul Garvey.
Roscommon played well in the opening quarter but the pace of some of the Cavan forwards was causing problems in the Roscommon defence.
On a few occasions the Roscommon half-back line was badly exposed when speedy Cavan forwards raced through the middle of the defence leaving their markers in their wake.
Neil Collins was playing well at full-back and Niall Daly and Niall Carty were very impressive on the wings.
Kevin Higgins was doing well at midfield and Cathal Shine was emerging as the best Roscommon player on the field.
Donal Shine was fielding well at full-forward, while Paul Garvey was very impressive at right half forward.
Roscommon led by three points at half-time.
Roscommon kicked three or four bad wides early in the second-half that could have been costly in the end.
The Cavan forwards were putting together some promising moves and most of their scores were coming from play.
The Roscommon goals had a charmed existence when Cavan missed three open goals. The first attempt hit off a defender’s shin and was eventually cleared.
The second attempt hit the right post and ricocheted across the goal line before hitting the other post and going wide.
Cavan’s third goal attempt from point blank range was brilliantly saved by the Roscommon goalkeeper Darren O’Malley.
Donal Shine’s goal allowed the Roscommon supporters to breathe a little easier.
The introduction of substitute Eamon Kenny injected badly needed pace into the Roscommon forward line and he made a big difference.
He scored one of the best points of the match with a brilliant effort from near the right sideline. Roscommon eventually held on to win by five points, 1-12 to 0-10.
It was a satisfactory display from a Roscommon point of view but there is a lot of work to be done before the championship.
There were a few worrying aspects of the game.
Most of Cavan’s scores came from play after the pace of the forwards badly exposed the Roscommon backs.
Roscommon tended to over play the ball in the half back line which could have been disastrous on a sticky surface.
The forward line could do with a bit more pace. It was only when Eamon Kenny was introduced that the value of pace was underlined.
Some good scoring chances were missed, particularly in the second-half.
Cavan looked sharper and their back up play was more impressive than Roscommon’s at times. Still, a win is a win and Roscommon will be heartened by this victory.
I was very impressed by Cathal Shine at centre-half forward. He worked hard throughout and won some difficult ball both in the air and on the ground. His distribution is excellent.
Cathal is only a matter of days over age for the minor grade this year, and with his physique and ball winning ability he looks like a player with a great future.
Donal Shine fielded brilliantly and kicked some great points both from play and placed balls. Kevin Higgins, Neil Collins, Paul Garvey, Brian Murtagh, Eamon Kenny and Darren McDermott were also impressive.
Playing at number 8 for Roscommon was one Hansi Kirrane, son of the former star defender John Kirrane.
Hansi plays his club football with the St. Vincent’s club in Dublin and has had some games with the club’s senior team.
I would prefer to see him playing in the half-back line on this team.
National League
Cavan will provide the opposition in Hyde Park on Sunday next when Roscommon start off the Division Three campaign.
It is a tough division and every game will be vital. It is important that Roscommon get the campaign off to a good start.
I didn’t get to any of the FBD games but I am hearing encouraging news about the performance of some new players.
Michael Killilea at full-back and Ian Kilbride at centreback have been performing very well.
Both positions have been problem areas for Roscommon teams in recent times and it would be a great boost to have the problems settled for the league.
Mark O’Carroll has made a welcome return to midfield and Enda Kenny is back in the full-forward line.
The college players like Peter Domican, Donal Shine and Cathal Cregg will be available for selection, which will increase Fergal O’Donnell’s options.
Donal Shine was in great form for the U-21 team in the Hastings Cup final.
Cavan will be anxious to repeat last year’s win over Roscommon. Like Roscommon, they are team building and Tommy Carr is trying to get the right combination together.
The aforementioned challenge game against Longford on Saturday wasn’t very inspiring but you cannot read too much into challenge games. I did notice that they put together a few promising moves against Longford and they have a few very quick forwards.
Seánie Johnson is one of the best forwards in the game and he will take watching. It is a hard game to call. There is a lot at stake even though it is a first round game.
Home advantage should just about shade it for Roscommon.
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