‘All bets are off’ for Galway rematch
Rory O’Connor, Tubberclair; Seamie Carthy, Roscommon Gaels and Luke Glennon, Clann na nGael, at the recent table quiz for the Roscommon minor football panel in the Percy French Hotel, Strokestown. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
Expectation is about to collide with reality in the eyes of Roscommon minor football manager, Shane Moran.
The young Rossies will kickstart a huge weekend for Roscommon GAA when they travel to Tuam Stadium on Friday evening (throw-in at 7 p.m.) to face Galway in this year’s Connacht final.
After another encouraging stint in the group stages that saw Roscommon qualify directly for this year’s decider, there is wind in their sails, but Moran has highlighted the momentum Galway will have garnered after edging out Sligo, 0-14 to 0-12, in last Friday evening's semi-final in Tubbercurry.
“Momentum is great but look at the momentum Galway have. They’ll be gunning for us. Look at what our U-20s did — Mayo had won their four group stage games and Roscommon turned them over (in the final).
“A Connacht final takes on a life of its own. All bets are off. It’s 50-50, you go to Tuam to try and put in a big performance. Hopefully, the boys will do that and see where it takes us,” remarked Moran.
Roscommon have been left idle since their facile victory against Leitrim on the same weekend that the senior footballers dismantled New York last month. The groundwork earlier in the campaign meant that, just like 12 months ago, the squad’s strength-in-depth was tested during that final group match, knowing that Roscommon were already assured of their place in the decider.
“It is a challenge. The team you are playing against (in the final) will always improve, that has been the big learning for us.
“We went to watch Galway playing Sligo, and they’ve come along a huge amount since we’ve played them in the Hyde.
“Between the round robin and the final this time, we haven’t played as many challenge games. It’s about trying to get the lads in the best physical condition to peak for Friday evening. We’ve no injuries, and we just hope what we’ve done over the past four weeks, since we played our last game, will allow us to perform in the final.
“We have a really good strength and conditioning team that have given us advice in terms of how to get as much out of them between the group stages and the final. We played one really good challenge game, and that was the peak of what we did. We’ve tapered off slightly since then.
“The big challenge is that we only found out who we were playing in the final last Friday evening. We only have a few days to prepare for them. Galway have the same challenge. You only have a week to knuckle down and try and get it right,” he explained.
Consequently, the 0-14 to 1-6 victory against Friday evening’s opponents in the Hyde at the end of March will have little bearing on the final, in Moran’s eyes.
“They’re a really good team. We knew from keeping an eye on the Connacht Schools’ Junior Championship, when you had The Bish and St. Jarlath’s in the final, that Galway would be strong.
“They’ve a really good management team — Cossie Gilmore has managed senior club teams in Galway, and he’s assisted by really good coaches. We knew that they were better than their performance in the Hyde, and I would expect them to be an awful lot better when we play them in the final.
“They were really good against Sligo — you have Oisín Ó Neachtain, Joey Cullinane, Adam Healy and their captain Eoin Gannon who gives them huge drive from the back.
“I can’t find in the record books where Roscommon have won a Connacht minor football title in Galway. So for Roscommon, Galway in Tuam for a Connacht final is as tough as it gets. There’s a target on our backs, and we know that Galway are going to come really hard to try and turn us over,” he highlighted.
In another era, Friday evening’s minor final would be the curtain-raiser to Sunday’s senior provincial showpiece, but Moran is hopeful that a big Roscommon following will make their way to Tuam — something that the management team and the players never take for granted.
“We appreciate that it’s a huge weekend for Roscommon, with the seniors in the Connacht final on Sunday. But the support we got in last year’s final against Mayo (in Castlebar) played a huge part in us getting over the line. We’re going into the lion’s den, so any bit of support we get would be appreciated,” he concluded.
