Keegan challenges Rossies to mount ‘real push beyond the province’
Daire Cregg, at the announcement of a three-year partnership between Clean Cut Meals, the Gaelic Players Association and the GAA earlier this week, kicked the defining score in last Sunday's Connacht final in the eyes of former Mayo defender, Lee Keegan. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Former Mayo defender and All-Star, Lee Keegan, has challenged Roscommon to mount a serious challenge in the upcoming All-Ireland Series.
Writing in his RTÉ Online column, Keegan — who was on Sunday Game duty in the Hyde on Sunday — described Roscommon’s 3-21 to 2-22 victory over Galway as “one of the best, most thrilling Connacht finals in living memory.” But Keegan admits that Roscommon must now allow their ambition for the season stretch a little further.
“They were brave in the finish. Daire Cregg had missed a simple enough one-point effort shortly after coming on and there might have been some anxiousness when he wound up for that mammoth two-point shot off his left peg. It was a sensational kick and probably the decisive score in the game.
“I suppose the question is now whether they are All-Ireland contenders. I'd hesitate to go that far for the moment but they're definitely in and around the top five.
“We know with Roscommon that there's always been a sense that a Connacht title is their ceiling. That's always been their priority and the hallmark of a successful year.
“And that they haven't always allowed their ambition to stretch a little further. They haven't always demonstrated real belief when they hit Croke Park, hence their poor record there since 1980.
“But, as Donie Smith said this week, they've a real opportunity now. For the first time in a while, they look to have the tools and the depth and the fearlessness to mount a real push beyond the province.”
