‘Keane’ to navigate uncharted waters

There is a wave of underage talent coming through the Roscommon LGFA production lines right now.

Despite the downbeat feeling on the men’s side, particularly after Roscommon’s disappointing showing against Monaghan, these are exciting times for their female counterparts.

With the intermediate ladies’ footballers reaching an All-Ireland quarter-final and the minor team progressing through to the All-Ireland U-18 A semi-final, suddenly there is a buzz developing within LGFA circles.

First into the ring will be the Roscommon U-16 ladies’ team, who will be aiming to thwart Armagh’s quest for three All-Ireland U-16 B titles in succession when the sides square off in an intriguing semi-final this evening at Kingspan Breffni (throw-in at 7.30 p.m.).

For manager Tommy Keane, the goal at the start of the year was to reach a second successive Connacht A final. When defeats to Galway and Mayo scuppered those plans, the Michael Glaveys clubman knew that his side were facing into a new challenge, one he feels his group of players have wholly embraced.

“Every year, you set out to win an A (Connacht) title. It doesn’t happen too often in Roscommon but since we ended up in the B, we really have embraced it.

“The amount of work you put in to win an All-Ireland B semi-final is as much as what you put into an All-Ireland A semi-final. The standard in the B is really high. We know we are facing a big challenge, but we have embraced it.

“There was a disappointment we didn’t get to an A final of course, but when we got to the B (Connacht) final, we put the heads down and said it was something to aim at.

“Playing Armagh is going to be uncharted waters for our players. However, it is something to look forward to and the girls have really put a massive effort in the last six weeks to prepare for the semi-final,” Keane noted.

For Roscommon, turning Connacht triumphs into further glory has proven tricky. With the county aiming to reach its first All-Ireland final at this grade since 2015 and become just the third U-16 team from the county to reach a national decider this century, they face a tall order.

On the opposite side lies an Armagh team with 13 survivors from last year’s All-Ireland winning panel. However, Keane has absolute faith in his side to produce a performance to be proud of.

“In a semi-final, you know that the opposition will be getting better. We have to match that with fitness and organisation. We have improved since the Connacht final in our challenge games. We definitely think that the trajectory is on the up. We are happy where we are, but Armagh are still a massive challenge. Being an Ulster team, they will be strong, but we are up for it.

“We are not looking ahead. We are just concentrating on Armagh and, most of all, ourselves to get a performance. The girls are flying in training, they are going really well. We can see the way we have played has improved since the Connacht championship. We are well set for this game, and we will give it one hell of a lash,” he concluded.