Moran heaps praise on ‘real good characters’ ahead of All-Ireland semi-final

It was a sight to behold — a delirious Roscommon following hailing their young heroes as the Primrose and Blue swarmed over Kingspan Breffni in the aftermath of a thrilling All-Ireland quarter-final.

Even when Roscommon missed chances to put the game to bed, their supporters stuck by them. It was blatantly obvious that the connection between the players, management and Roscommon people who love their football is unbreakable.

“We don’t do things easily but I’m just so proud of the fellas,” was manager Shane Moran’s initial assessment.

“We came back three times during the game when we were down. But we kept fighting until the end. That’s something we’ve worked on — you play until the final whistle. We’ve real good characters in the team, I could name any one of 19 or 20 players who contributed to that success.

“I’m just so proud of them. They really are just a credit to their clubs, their families and their schools. Look, we’re a great little county. We’re in the last four in Ireland. It’s great to have an All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to,” he continued.

When asked to delve a little deeper, Moran felt that squad depth had played a huge role in Roscommon’s first victory in the All-Ireland Series at minor level since 2013.

“We knew that Louth were a hugely physically team. They were very organised. Gavin Devlin is involved with them — a great coach, he has been with Mickey Harte for years. They play a different style to us. It’s a slower game, much more controlled. They’re very strong in the middle third. But we stuck at it. When we needed leaders, the lads stood up. Thankfully we got over the line in the end.

“We have a squad of 32 players, and any one of them can contribute on any given day. We’ve tried to build a strong squad. David Mannion wasn’t in the squad for the Connacht final, but he’s had such a good month.

“That’s the way it is, everyone is on their toes. Who knows who’ll get playing the next day? It’s about getting your chance, going in and taking it. A lot of the guys did that this evening,” he accepted.

While it was important to win a game in the All-Ireland Series as provincial champions, many will now regard Roscommon as being in bonus territory. Regardless, Moran felt that his players wouldn’t shirk the responsibility of trying to reach a first final in 19 years.

“Tyrone were very impressive in beating Cork comprehensively. We’ll worry about them tomorrow (Sunday). We’ll recover and try to get the bodies right. It’s game on game, it’s great to be in the last four.

“But now that we’re in the last four, we want to get to the final. These guys are very focused, very mature, and we’ll just keep going in this competition for as long as we can,” he concluded.