‘It wasn't always pretty at times, but we kept at it’ — Dowd
Roscommon senior football manager Mark Dowd (right) celebrates with his team as Diarmuid Murtagh raises the Nestor Cup aloft inside the Roscommon dressing room following Sunday's Connacht final triumph against Galway at King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
Mark Dowd hailed his side’s resilience as Roscommon snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Galway to win the Nestor Cup for the first time since 2019.
Damien Comer’s goal propelled Galway six points left with only nine minutes remaining on the clock, but Roscommon’s staged a superb comeback, hitting the last eight points to leave the Rossies celebrating a first Connacht title on home soil since 2001.
“I suppose it backs up what we've been trying to do all year, since the early days when we gathered a panel and started putting plans in place. We wanted a physical team that was able to compete with the top teams. We showed that today, that we could.
“It gave us that belief. We wanted it that we were going down the home straight in games and that we were still going to be in it. We showed that today.
“We could have ended up on the losing side of it as well, but it showed massive composure from the lads in those last ten minutes. They just kept their wits about them, they took it play by play, and we got our scores there to get over the line,” he dissected.
Having been involved as a selector in the Connacht title-winning teams of 2010 and 2019 under managers Fergal O’Donnell and Anthony Cunningham respectively, Dowd appreciated the scenes that accompanied confirmation that Roscommon were Connacht senior football champions for the 25th time.
“I'm delighted just for the bunch of lads, the amount of work they've put in. We probably haven't seen enough of these days in Roscommon.
“Hopefully, you saw it there last week with the U-17s and U-20s, things are working for us here at the moment. It's the people that are in there, the players that are in there.
“Everyone is putting their shoulder to the wheel, and that's brilliant. We just need to give Roscommon supporters something to talk about. I felt we've done that today. It wasn't always pretty at times, but we kept at it and kept sticking in. We got our reward in the end.”
When asked about the celebrations that will accompany Sunday’s victory, Dowd reminded everyone about the upcoming game in the All-Ireland Series against Tyrone in two weeks’ time before declaring: “I think we're going back to Supermacs now for an ice cream”!
