Smith vows to get back on the horse for 2026
Roscommon U-20 football manager, Cian Smith, takes stock of his side's narrow loss against Mayo in Tuam Stadium on Wednesday evening. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
Roscommon U-20 football manager, Cian Smith, has vowed to get back on the horse later this year when the disappointment of losing Wednesday evening’s Connacht final against Mayo subsides.
The Boyle native saw his side produce their best performance of the season to run a highly-rated Mayo team to just three points in Tuam.
A contentious square ball call in injury time was a major talking point afterwards, and while Smith felt that Ruairí Kilcline’s goal should have stood, he was looking towards the future with players like Patrick Gaynor, Keelan Kelly, Eoghan Carthy, David Higgins, Eoin Collins, John Curran and John McGuinness from Wednesday evening’s starting 15 still underage again next year.
“I’m very disappointed but I am more disappointed for the lads to be honest. They have given me everything all year. A great effort, so it is tough to take.
"What I would say is that it is very important for the lads to keep going the way they are going. We will hopefully have lads who are underage next year. We will keep pushing underage development and get them in the U-19 development squad. Hopefully, we will get back on the horse later on in the year and go again for next year."
