Final round of hurling group action to decide remaining slots
Oran forward, Shane Keane, seen here in action against Seán Kilcline of St. Dominic's last time out, will be hoping that his side can continue their good form against Four Roads on Sunday next. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
With both sides assured of a top two finish and a semi-final spot, it will be intriguing to see how they approach this final round group game.
After Sunday, both teams will have to wait three weeks until their next game, so it is hard to envisage either side significantly shuffling their decks with Oran, in particular, keen to lay down a marker.
Francie Quine’s outfit have been the story of the championship so far. Their win over St. Dominic’s last time out allows them to approach this contest with a degree of freedom. Paddy Fallon has plundered a whopping 1-34 in three group games, while he is impacting the game greatly from open play.
Oran, who last won the Mickey Cunniffe Cup in 2016, possess an impressive spine with Micheál Hussey continuing to show why he’s one of the top young players in the county. Declan Leonard, Jerry Fallon and the Kenny brothers bring an abundance of experience and calm in big moments.
Four Roads have managed to do enough without ever hitting top gear so far this year. Their first 40 minutes against Athleague saw them produce glimpses of their best while their self-belief means defeating them is still the trickiest assignment in Roscommon hurling.
A very dangerous game for Roscommon Gaels.
Ronan O’Meara’s side know that if they lose here, then their year is over. That would be a disastrous outcome for a Roscommon Gaels side that have taken huge strides forward in recent years.
Tremane will have been hurting from their defeat to Pádraig Pearses last time out where nine second-half wides proved damaging to their cause.
Peter Kellehan is in sparkling form, but they need different players to step up to the mark and provide a scoring threat. Darren Gately’s straight red card against Pádraig Pearses robs them of one such outlet but Joe Brennan is a player capable of upsetting any defence when he’s in form.
Roscommon Gaels have been rock solid defensively but, up front, they have struggled to generate scores, particularly from play, scoring fewer points on average than any other team in the championship.
Eoin Kiernan showed well against St. Dominic’s in Roscommon Gaels’ last outing while the likes of Finn Killion, Richard Walsh and Ryan Conlon are players who can take control of a game.
In a game involving the two teams with the lowest scoring output in the championship to date, a tense contest is on the cards. Despite their long lay-off, Roscommon Gaels appear to possess the better hand.
