Another ‘huge effort’ required to have any chance of toppling Tribesmen

Like most Roscommon people this week, Cathal Cregg has a spring in his step.

As someone who made 165 appearances for the county and experienced his fair share of breathtaking victories and gut-wrenching defeats, completing a senior and U-20 and double over Mayo was a sweet sight for the Western Gaels man.

“It has been a brilliant couple of days. The minors are (and won) in a Connacht final, so there’s a lot to look forward to over the next while.

“A brilliant performance for the seniors against Mayo and then the U-20s came through one of the best games I have ever seen in terms of enjoyment, so it was brilliant to win that as well,” Cregg stated.

In a year where Roscommon have surprised many with their strong form throughout the spring and subsequent dismantling of Mayo, Cregg feels that the injection of youth by Mark Dowd has provided a sense of freshness to the team.

“There is a lot of talent in Roscommon. We all knew that, but it has come very quickly. A lot of the younger players have come in, and they have really excelled. The likes of Conor Ryan, Colm Neary, Senan Lambe and Caelim Keogh just to name a few.

“The performances they put in against Mayo and in the league have been brilliant, especially for their age. Roscommon are where they are because those guys have stepped up to the plate.

“Behind all that, Mark Dowd and his management team — whatever set-up they have put in the background — has allowed the players to flourish. Then you have Diarmuid (Murtagh), Enda (Smith) and Keith Doyle. There is obviously a really good set-up that is allowing the players to maximise their abilities,” he noted.

The former Roscommon forward feels that the breakneck speed at which games come around will suit Roscommon. He also believes that the younger players within the squad won’t be overawed by the occasion.

“A lot of them are well used to playing in Connacht finals. Even the younger lads have played in Connacht minor U-20 finals. The younger lads have won big matches, so they are well-used to these sorts of days.

“The management will be there to help them too. They will be shielded a lot from the attention but, to be honest, the time goes by very quickly,” he noted.

Roscommon’s electrifying second-half display against Mayo came off the back of their ability to overturn the Mayo kickout and counter at pace. Cregg acknowledged that Galway possess a much greater punch around the middle third, but he states that breaking even on contested kickouts would provide a huge platform for victory.

“It will be a different kettle of fish altogether against Galway. They have a serious amount of quality all over the field, particularly in that middle third. It will be a huge challenge for Keith Doyle and Conor Ryan. They are well capable of it, but you are going in against the likes of John Maher and Paul Conroy — guys with huge experience.

“If we can break 50-50, I would be happy because the game is dictated by that. We would need a good conversion rate up front because I don’t think we will win the same amount of possession as we did against Mayo, so we won’t have as many scoring opportunities.

“I think it will be very tight. Galway are still a really good side who have been in a couple of All-Ireland finals in recent years, so it will take a huge Roscommon effort to beat them,” he concluded.