Devaney wouldn’t be surprised by a Roscommon victory

Former Roscommon captain Conor Devaney believes that his native county are coming in under the radar to this Sunday’s Connacht semi-final showdown with Mayo.

Despite Roscommon ambushing their great provincial rivals in Castlebar just over a year ago, there has been a muted build-up to next weekend’s meeting at Dr. Hyde Park. Relegation from Division One allied to a dearth of consistent 70-minute displays from the “Primrose and Blue” has tempered expectations.

But Devaney, who retired from intercounty action in January 2023, believes that his former team-mates will be quietly confident coming into the game as underdogs.

“I suppose there isn’t that hype, given the way the national league went, which, from Roscommon’s point of view, is a great thing. Mayo are probably going to go in as very strong favourites. I think the lack of hype is a good thing for the Roscommon players and management as I am sure they are working away quietly.

“They have a couple of players coming back, and that’s a good thing too. They are going in under the radar, but they won’t mind that at all,” summarised Devaney.

The Kilbride player-manager admits that the bulk of his championship encounters against Mayo ended in heartbreak, describing the two-point Connacht final defeat in 2011 as the “one that got away”.

The former All-Star nominee came off the bench during the famous toppling of Mayo in 2019 as he believes that the red-letter victory on a wet evening in Castlebar provided future teams with a vast supply of much-needed belief.

“I suppose the reaction of the supporters in 2019 said everything. For a large part of my career, it was hard to see how we were ever going to beat Mayo, particularly in Castlebar. We took a few beatings, but once you get over them for the first time then you know you are closer to them and will be closer to them in the future.

“I suppose, over the years, it was a case of are we ever going to do it? It was a huge relief for the players back in 2019. I think for supporters it was more than relief just based on the scenes at full time. They were delighted, as were the players.

“Psychologically, it took a weight off the players that they know now we can beat Mayo. They’ll be thinking ‘let’s get Mayo down to the Hyde and let’s beat them’. That was the way you would be thinking after ’19 and last year. Before that, some players might have been thinking when are we ever going to beat them?” he explained.

The rivalry that exist between Mayo, Roscommon and Galway is peculiar. All three teams, certainly in recent times, appear more comfortable facing their opponents on away soil rather than in their native county ground.

Roscommon are searching for their first championship victory against Mayo on home soil since 2001. Yet, Devaney feels Dr. Hyde Park playing host to Sunday’s game gives Roscommon a slight edge.

“I still think home advantage has to be important. Roscommon will have been training in the Hyde for the past few weeks. It has to make a difference. With Mayo coming, there will be an equal number of supporters, so from that point of view it mightn’t matter.

“But I think it will make a difference. Coming in under the radar alongside enjoying home advantage with the talk being about Mayo coming down to the Hyde and turning over Roscommon very easily, I think all of that suits Roscommon. They will be working hard in the Hyde and making sure that is not going to happen.

“As a player, with the way the Hyde has been refurbished and especially the work done on the playing surface, it will help. I think the Roscommon footballers will prefer to be playing there,” he explained.

The former All-Ireland winning minor finds it tough to predict the outcome of a contest that contains many variables, particularly on the Roscommon side of the equation. He hopes that Enda Smith will be deployed closer to goal and Ben O’Carroll catches fire against a Mayo side, he believes, can cough up opportunities at the back.

“In terms of Mayo, maybe people think they are better than they are. Mayo are going to afford Roscommon chances to score. Roscommon haven’t been scoring freely and unfortunately, we have been conceding a bit more than we were last year. Mayo will score and will probably end up with something like 2-10 to 2-11, so Roscommon will have to produce their best display in attack this year.

“If you have the likes of Enda Smith possibly closer to goal, you have hopefully Ben O’Carroll back in the fold, you are going to have more scores than we had for most of the league. Even with just the two of them, you will surely have five or six more points on the board.

“A lot of people will say it will be a surprise if it happens, but I wouldn’t say it will be a massive surprise if Roscommon win. Roscommon haven’t been going well but maybe there is a plan — that they haven’t been going absolutely flat out for the league because they felt that was what went wrong last year. I think maybe the planning is more geared towards this game, so I am going to say Roscommon will win, just about,” he concluded.