Minors wipe slate clean ahead of Derry test

Shane Moran has insisted that Roscommon have wiped the slate clean ahead of next weekend's All-Ireland minor football quarter-final against Derry.

The Roscommon manager acknowledged that it was a huge achievement to stitch successive provincial titles together for only the second time in the county’s history, but he highlighted that the famous victory over Galway nearly four weeks ago has been parked ahead of this weekend’s last eight clash against the beaten Ulster finalists (day, time and venue not available at the time of going to press).

“We’ve put the Connacht final behind us at this stage. We’re obviously very proud of the lads, but this is a different competition. We want to prove that Connacht football is as good as what’s out there.

“We’re treating it as a completely separate competition. We’ve framed it that way. We’ve told the lads that we could put out a different 24 for this competition, and that has increased competition within the squad.

“The majority of the team didn’t play last year, so it is new for them. We’re going to be playing at a higher level. Every game we play from now on will be an improvement on the previous game,” he remarked.

The 3-12 to 1-17 victory against Galway was memorable, but there were enough flaws in that performance at Tuam Stadium to ensure that nobody has been losing the run of themselves since then.

“We’ve absolutely loads to work on. Anyone could target the few things that didn’t go so well in the Connacht final. Every single game this year, we’ve tried to take the learnings from it.

“Coaches like Niall (Carty), Colm (Garvey) and Padraig (Kelly) have got down to work on the training field, put their shoulder to the wheel, and the lads have taken the learnings on board. We’d like to think that we’re a better team than the one that played in the Connacht final.

“We’ve used the break well. It’s a nice chunk of time, four weeks between a Connacht final and an All-Ireland quarter-final. Derry played last Friday night and they’re coming in to play us eight or nine days later.

“We’ve played a challenge game and worked closely with our strength and conditioning team to try and get them right for the right time. A two-week break is always ideal, but you’re never going to have things ideal. We’ll face the challenge that’s ahead of us, and hopefully we’ll have the lads in good nick,” he explained.

Despite Derry’s disappointing second-half performance against Tyrone, the county’s pedigree at this level is well-flagged. The Oak Leaf County has appeared in five out of the last seven Ulster finals and have been All-Ireland champions three times this decade (2020, 2023 and 2024).

Full-forward Tadhg Bradley, son of former Derry great Paddy Bradley, Lorcan Higgins, Don Mulholland are major threats in attack.

Dara McKaigue and Conor Sargent are excellent defenders, while Gabriel Gormley and Conor O’Kane form a solid midfield partnership. Rocco Devlin’s lightning-quick pace is another asset off the bench.

“We’ve seen plenty of Derry throughout the year, and we played them in a challenge game.

“Their manager Kieran Glackin knows his stuff. They’ll be disappointed with the way things petered out against Tyrone in the second half, but I’m sure they’ll be very keen to put things right this weekend.

“We’re under no illusions that we’ll be coming up against a really good team. We’ll give them the respect they deserve. I have no doubt that they’ll be better than they were in Letterkenny.

“But we’ll be ready for them. We’ve trained really hard and I’m hopeful our guys will give a really good account of themselves.” 

With different players making their mark in each game, Moran is delighted with the depth of his squad. He’s also hopeful that a large Roscommon following will turn up to support his players this weekend, like they did in last year’s corresponding fixture against Louth at Kingspan Breffni.

“It’s always something you hope will happen. Your perceived main guys are always going to get close attention. Over the weeks and months we’ve had together, you want to build a squad to make sure that guys are ready to come in and step up to the mark when they’re needed.

“That happened in the Connacht final. Josh Coyne hit 1-1 early on, Jack Lally chipped in with a two-pointer when Seamie (Coyne) and Jayden Jennings were getting close attention. That’s great to see, it’s exactly what we’re trying to do — build a team where anyone can step up to the mark at any stage. 

"Who’s to say that someone we bring in off the bench or someone outside the 24 up to now won’t come in and make a name for themselves the next day.

“The support for the lads has been brilliant in all the games. It really makes a difference and we really appreciate it. Hopefully, another big crowd will get behind them this weekend because they deserve it,” he concluded.