Roscommon Masters footballers aiming to take final step

Roscommon’s Masters footballers will be aiming to end their year on a high when they face Armagh in their All-Ireland Plate final on Saturday in Kiltoom at 3.30 p.m..

Anthony Carroll’s side qualified for the Mick Loftus Cup final — the equivalent of the ‘A’ final — last year and hopes are high that Roscommon can keep the momentum going by scooping silverware.

Three wins and a draw from their six group games wasn’t enough to see Roscommon enter the top tier at the semi-final stage.

However, they regrouped to defeat Galway for the second time this season to set up a final against an Armagh side that Roscommon have never faced at Masters level before.

Carroll doesn’t feel that last year’s memorable run to the Mick Loftus Cup final against Tyrone gives Roscommon a major advantage, warning that finals are a different proposition to any other game on the calendar.

“Every year is very different. We have six, seven, eight lads this year that we didn’t have last year. Every other county is the same. If you play a county this year, they could have seven or eight different lads next year.

“Finals are finals. They take on a life of their own, so whoever shows up on the day will be the team that will win it,” the Kilmore native noted.

Carroll believes that Masters football is growing from strength to strength across the country, and he hopes that a big crowd show up for what is a double header, with Waterford and Derry contesting the Spirit Cup final beforehand.

“Since we started out in 2017, we have over double the teams now than there were back then. Now there are hurling teams and there is a ladies’ provincial competition too. It is evolving all the time. There are only four or five counties without a team now.

“The Masters has changed a lot and there are a lot of new people involved. Even the age profile of the game has changed. Starting out, it was probably fellas in their late 40s playing. Now it is guys who are playing as soon as they are eligible. The maximum age is nearly 42 or 43 years of age,” he noted.

With Masters football games played under the “old rules”, a tight contest is expected against an Armagh team seeking their second All-Ireland title in succession in what will be their third final since starting up in 2023. But Carroll feels that his side have a real shot at silverware if they can replicate their performance from the semi-final win over Galway.

“We have home advantage, which is a big help. We need turn up on the day. There were a couple of games earlier in the year where we were poor. Then we beat Galway twice and played very well in the semi-final. 

"Even though Dublin beat us in the group stages, we played well that day. If we can bring that type of performance, we have a great chance of winning it,” he concluded.

ROSCOMMON MASTERS: Aaron Sharkey, David Kelly, Mark O'Donohoe, Seamus Keane, Roch Hanmore (Boyle); Girvan Dolan (Bunbrosna); Conor Beirne, Paddy O'Connor (Elphin); Declan Woods, Ross Nolan (Éire Óg); Niall Connolly, David Delaney (Fuerty); Ger Heneghan (Garrycastle); Dermot Foley (Kilmore); Gerry Nugent (Kilglass Gaels); Paul Foxe, Anthony McDermott (Kilbride); Seán Ryan (Castlerea St. Kevin’s); Alan Daly, Stuart Daly (Michael Glaveys); Stephen McCormack, David Cryan (Tulsk Lord Edwards); Declan Beirne (Oran); Paul Kelly, Seán Fahy Niall Finneran (Pádraig Pearses); John McHugh, Damien Caslin (Strokestown); Cathal Dineen (Roscommon Gaels); Michael McNama, David McTiernan (St. Ronan’s); Adrian Freyne, Seán McDermott (Western Gaels); Paul Gilleran, Ronan Beirne (St. Joseph's); Senan Kilbride, Robbie Kelly (St. Brigid’s); Ronan Cox, Neil Cox (St. Michael’s); David Hussey, Gerry Leech, Joseph Towey, Cathal Finan (St. Croan’s); Ultan Kelly (St. Domnic's); David Scahill (Shandonagh); Ian Kilbride (St. Jude’).

Manager: Anthony Carroll (Kilmore); Selectors: Damien Garvey (St. Croan’s), Declan Woods (Éire Óg), Liam Butler (Elphin)