Mayo leave understrength Roscommon chasing shadows
Mayo full-forward Aidan O'Shea sizes up his options as Roscommon defender, Eoin McCormack, closes in during Sunday's Division One League game at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park. Picture: INPHO/Andrew Paton
Mayo indulged in a scoring feast by tearing an understrength Roscommon team asunder in Castlebar on Sunday afternoon.
The die was cast when both sides made a raft of changes from their last game but, crucially, Mayo retained key personnel in the likes of Ryan O’Donoghue, Aidan O’Shea and Sam Callinan, and all three players had a major beating on the home side’s prosperity.
For Roscommon, Mark Dowd’s decision to leave his cavalry on the bench was an indication that the manager was happy with the heavy lifting done over the last number of weeks, which preserved their status in the top flight for 2027.
Afterwards, Mayo manager, Andy Moran, said the result would have no relevance on the probable meeting between the sides in the Connacht SFC in five weeks’ time, while Mark Dowd bemoaned the cheap concession of possession that gifted Mayo a number of scores.
Mayo scored 4-11 in the opening half, and many of those scores resulted from cheap Roscommon turnovers.
More worryingly, the home missed at least four more goals, with Conor Carroll making at least three smart saves.
The visitors, who lost Tim Lambe and his replacement Pearse Frost to injury, were competitive for the opening 20 minutes, and Ben O’Carroll’s 19th minute goal had them on level terms.
But Mayo ran riot after that, scoring 4-5 in the last 15 minutes of the half.
Paul Towey, Jack Carney, Aidan O’Shea and Ryan O’Donoghue — from the penalty spot — raised green flags as the Roscommon defence parted like the Red Sea.
O’Shea’s goal was particularly galling as Roscommon made a mess of clearing their lines, allowing Cian McHale to pick out O’Shea who finished with precision.
That snapshot alone summed up Roscommon’s lethargy on the afternoon.
O’Donoghue’s penalty was awarded when Caelim Keogh was deemed by referee Conor Lane to have denied Sam Callinan a goal scoring opportunity, resulting in a black card for the Pádraig Pearses defender.
Mayo continued to tag on the scores in the second half, and by the time Cillian O’Connor landed a two-pointer with three minutes remaining, 15 Mayo players had troubled the scoreboard.
Roscommon’s second-half goal came from Eoin Colleran, but it hardly made a dent on the scoreboard as Mayo ran out 21-point winners — just one point shy of the margin of victory in the 2017 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final replay victory in Croke Park.
Overall, however, it has been a positive campaign for Roscommon as attention switches to the championship game against New York in three weeks' time.
MAYO: J. Livingstone (0-1, one ’45); J. Coyne (0-1), R. Brickenden, D. Duffy (0-1); S. Callinan, M. Plunkett (0-1), H. O’Loughlin (0-2); S. Howard, D. McBrien (0-1); J. Carney (1-2), R. O’Donoghue (1-4, 1-0 penalty, one 0-2 free, one free), J. Flynn (0-3); C. McHale (0-3), A. O’Shea (1-2), P. Towey (1-0). Subs used: C. O’Connor (0-2, one 0-2) for O’Shea (47 mins), T. Conroy (0-2) for Towey (47 mins), F. Irwin (0-1) for Howard (51 mins), J. MacMonagle for Plunkett (54 mins), K. Callaghan for McHale (57 mins), S. Morahan for O’Loughlin (blood sub, 65 mins).
ROSCOMMON: C. Carroll; T. Lambe, E. McCormack, N. Higgins; C. Neary (0-1), C. Keogh, R. Dolan; S. Cunnane (0-1), C. Ryan; P. Carey, C. Hand, C. Lennon; B. O’Carroll (1-1), D. Cregg (0-5, one 0-2, one free), C. Heneghan. Subs used: P. Frost for Lambe (10 mins), D. Kenny (0-1) for Frost (15 mins), E. Colleran (1-1) for Heneghan (27 mins), A. Brady for Carroll (half-time), J. Duggan (0-1) for Lennon (48 mins), K. Callaghan for McHale (58 mins), R. Heneghan for Carey (temp, 66 mins).
Referee: C. Lane (Cork).
