Roscommon must be consistent against top teams

Former Dublin senior footballer Coman Goggins feels that Roscommon will fancy their chances of securing a famous league victory against Dublin in Croke Park this evening.

Like the reigning All-Ireland champions, the Rossies are looking for their first win in this year’s Division One League campaign, and Goggins believes that Dublin’s two results so far — losses against Monaghan and Mayo — will fuel the visitors with optimism.

“I think Dublin will approach the game in the knowledge that they need two points. That puts pressure on Roscommon in terms of matching Dublin’s desire to win the game.

“But I do think that Roscommon have proved, as they did last year in the championship, that they can rise to the Dublin challenge. They’ll look at Dublin and think that they’re not where they might be in a few weeks’ time, and that gives Roscommon a huge opportunity.

“Both teams will target the two points. Roscommon have a chance on the basis that Monaghan beat Dublin. Mayo have got points off them as well. So, definitely, Roscommon have a chance,” he told the Roscommon Herald ahead of this evening's 5 p.m. throw-in at GAA headquarters.

It has been an indifferent start to the 2024 league for both teams and Goggins, whose second cousin Senan Lambe is part of the Roscommon panel, noted that the Dubs appear to be playing catch-up after winning last year’s All-Ireland title.

“Both Dublin and Roscommon are, ideally, not where they’d like to be.

“You think of last year and Roscommon won their first three games. They were pretty much safe before they could ever consider being potentially relegated out of the division. They’re probably not in the same spot this year.

“Dublin produced a pretty good performance against Mayo, particularly in the first half. I would suggest they ran out of legs a bit towards the back end of the second half. Mayo probably have a bit more conditioning done, given that Dublin are coming back a bit later after winning the All-Ireland.

“But they’ll be disappointed that they don’t have any points on the board, especially against Monaghan who were very good and had lots of pace. But you have to put that into context by saying that there are players coming back into the squad and that Dublin haven’t the bank of work done that other counties have done at this stage,” he explained.

Goggins admits that his former team have creases to iron out, and a talented Roscommon attack, even without the suspended Donie Smith and injured Ben O'Carroll, will look to profit from uncharacteristic flimsy Dublin defending in their opening two games.

“There were problem areas for Dublin that Monaghan really exposed. Dublin are conceding too many goals. In league football, you’re going to be under pressure to win if you’re conceding goals because it’s going to be very hard to get that back in the conditions. Maybe, you can come back from it in championship but Dublin have conceded four goals in two league games. If they can shore that up a little bit, it will give them the opportunity to win games.

“A trip to Ulster followed by a game against a Connacht team was always going to be a difficult opening for them (Roscommon). Both teams need a result with a view to securing their divisional status.

“No matter where Dublin are playing their football, they have a set way of getting to the point where they need to be come championship. I don’t think that they will want to be relegated. From the perspective of finding new players and giving them the opportunity to be blooded against the top teams, it makes a difference being in Division One.

“They haven’t managed to uncover anything majorly new. It’s still the big names doing the business for them. I thought Theo Clancy did well against Mayo — a very strong footballer with Kilmacud Crokes during their club championship campaign. It’s about finding one or two guys like him that you can add into the mix, which will allow Dublin to build on what they achieved last year.

“It is a balance between retaining your Division One status and unearthing new talent. I think they could do with finding another forward. But it’s a huge bar to reach, given what the Dublin forwards have achieved in previous years. It’s a big gap for guys coming from club football,” he highlighted.

Goggins, whose parents hail from Strokestown, is fascinated to see how the “Primrose and Blue” move on from last year’s championship where they lost games, he felt, they should have won.

“Roscommon were good early on last year. They probably dropped off then in the second half of the league. I was more disappointed that they didn’t get results against Kildare and Cork last year. I think Davy (Burke) had them operating a little bit differently in terms of how they were trying to play and how they were trying to think.

“Ultimately, they weren’t able to get over the line in those games, and there’s a big learning for them in that. They have great talent. You look at the Brigid’s team in the club final and you start to knit that into what’s already there.

“Overall, I think Roscommon are in a good place but they’ve a bit of work to do in terms of how do you get to the next level and stay consistent with the top teams,” he concluded.

Roscommon haven’t beaten Dublin in the league since the 2-12 to 0-16 victory in Parnell Park in 2002. Last year’s draw in the All-Ireland Series group stages in Croke Park was fully merited but, with the Dubs desperate to breathe life into their league campaign, it’s going to take something special — something we haven’t seen from this team since beating Mayo in the Connacht championship last April — to get Roscommon back on track.

On the evidence of what we’ve seen so far, it’s probably too much to ask.

HERALD VERDICT: Dublin