It's time to put our best foot forward
Can Enda Smith and his Roscommon team-mates get their All-Ireland SFC campaign motoring over the coming weeks? Picture: INPHO/James Lawlor
A few minutes after a drab 0-13 to 0-9 defeat against Mayo in last year’s FBD final, Davy Burke made it known that he wasn’t impressed by certain aspects of his side’s performance. In his second competitive game as manager, he was still learning about his players.
“The plan wasn’t to be as negative and go backwards all the time. I’m not sure where this backwards from every free came from — I’m certainly going to try my best to get that out of the lads.
“I look for a bit more positivity myself, but you have to be pragmatic too — I understand that. You can’t be kicking the ball into 15 men behind the ball, but I would like to see a better, more offensive plan,” he observed.
Fifteen months later, the jury is debating whether the Roscommon manager has found what he’s looking for.
At times this season, Roscommon appear to have been caught in no man’s land, not scoring enough and conceding far too much. It’s a recipe that won’t win too many matches at this level, and Roscommon’s record this season has been an accurate reflection of a team struggling to emerge from the quicksand they find themselves submerged in.
Burke has put forward mitigating factors — injuries, bad luck etc. Deep down, he also knows that some of his key players have lost the form that made them such a vital cog in the machine that comfortably held their own in Division One last season. It’s also fair to conclude that game-changing players like Ciaráin Murtagh and Cian McKeon are being sorely missed.
What happened during that rollercoaster of a league campaign has ensured that Burke still has the vast majority of Roscommon supporters in his corner. But the gradual decline in performance levels in the All-Ireland Series, culminating in those losses against Kildare and Cork, seems to have infiltrated his thought process for his second year at the helm.
In a conversation with Tomás O’Sé on the former Kerry footballer’s Comhrá Le Tomás podcast a few days after the heartbreaking defeat against Cork in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final, Burke hinted that he might do things differently in 2024.
And therein lies the great unknown as Roscommon get ready for their opening game on Group 2 of the All-Ireland Series on Saturday next when the Rossies make the all-too familiar trip to Croke Park to take on Leinster champions, Dublin (throw-in at 5 p.m.).
Have Roscommon timed their run to peak for the business end of the season?
If only sport at the highest level, or any level for that matter, was that simple? You just can’t flick a switch and hope that everything will be all right on the night.
But the theory that Roscommon have been saving themselves to hit the ground running in May and June is the one that GAA supporters of a “Primrose and Blue” persuasion have been clinging to in the hope that this team’s best days this season are ahead of them.
There are crumbs of evidence to buttress that hope. Apart from the Monaghan game which they won comfortably, Roscommon have yet to stitch together a 70-minute performance this season. The second-half fadeouts in some games have been alarming, barely making the Rossies competitive when games are there to be won or lost.
But the one constant has been that for all the marquee forwards Roscommon have at their disposal, they’re not firing on all cylinders. A total of 29 opportunities created against Mayo, and only 0-13 scored, won’t cut the mustard over the coming weeks.
In other words, it’s not rocket science to conclude where the improvements must come from.
Despite losing to Galway in the Connacht semi-final 12 months ago, Roscommon had enough momentum in their sails, alongside the time to prepare for tackling the Dubs. It also helped that a probable win against Sligo in the Hyde a week later meant that they could throw everything at the Dublin game, and a famous draw had everyone feeling good about themselves despite the short turnaround and misgivings — in the national media at last — about Roscommon’s style of play.
With Mayo having a two-week break before coming to a ground where they haven’t lost a championship game against the home side since 2001, the Rossies are going to have to rediscover their form, and quickly.
Cavan, even without their star forward Paddy Lynch, will fancy a crack at Roscommon to nourish their aim of getting out of the group. But that a discussion for a few weeks’ time.
The key for Burke is to have his strongest panel available to him, and for the first time all year, apart from Cathal Heneghan, everyone appears to be fit and raring to go.
Getting something out of Croke Park is improbable, but a performance that builds up some head of steam before Mayo come to town is imperative. Despite the Connacht semi-final reversal, Roscommon know that Kevin McStay’s side remain vulnerable and will fancy another crack at them.
Or to put it another way for this group of players in the context of getting the better of Mayo in the Hyde — if not now, when?
The game against Cavan will take care of itself if Roscommon have something to chew on before their showdown against Raymond Galligan’s charges. If they’re still struggling for some kind of form, then it could turn out to be one of those awkward afternoons in mid-June.
The manager and his players know what’s required. A narrative has been penned that everything is being built towards the coming weeks.
The baseline is a place in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. Anything less will leave the aftertaste highly unpalatable among players, management and supporters.
The gloves are off. It’s time to put our best foot forward.
