Worrying decline in form continues

The fans filtered out of Hyde Park in the brilliant sunshine. Ice-cream, water and beverages of a stronger vintage were already on their minds.

The atmosphere was muted, accurately reflecting a match which never roused the crowd to a frenzy of excitement. Once Aidan O’Shea slotted a goal in the eighth minute, there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome. That the scorer was O’Shea added to the significance.

The indelible image of last year’s win by Roscommon in the corresponding fixture was a photo by James Crombie of Inpho of a posse of Roscommon defenders towering over a falling O’Shea after he was penalised for overcarrying. There were no such images last Sunday as the fire and brimstone of last year were absent.

Underdogs Donegal and Cavan tore into hotly-fancied foes last weekend but Roscommon couldn’t replicate that fervour.

The home team battled gallantly to reduce the gap to one point by half time and even briefly drew level in the second half only for Mayo to pull away and win comfortably. Even that first-half fightback gave an inkling of what was to come.

The scores came from individual long-range efforts — especially from Diarmuid Murtagh, who excelled in that first-half — rather than any slick combination play. On the law of averages those high-risk shots will stop finding the target and that’s exactly what happened in the second half.

Roscommon have a much-vaunted forward-line but their total of 0-13 on a glorious day on a pristine pitch was in keeping with their tallies during the league. In all, the home side scored just 13 of 27 scoring chances. Those included four efforts that dropped into the hands of Mayo goalkeeper Colm Reape — the type of misses that drain energy and confidence. In truth, the home team didn't seem to have a coherent forward strategy.

Worst of all was the sight of David Murray and Ultan Harney going off injured. Both were playing well and would be serious losses if they were out of the opening match in the group stages of the All-Ireland championship.

Murray has been a warrior for Roscommon for over a decade and was giving a typically tenacious display. Harney has worked his way back from injury and gave glimpses on Sunday that he was returning to his best form. It is a cruel setback for both players.

The worry has long been that the newcomers aren’t coming through to replace the players from the 2012 and 2014 U-21 teams who have backboned the senior team for a generation. The 2021 U-20s came along at just the right time — seven of that team saw action last Sunday, including three championship debutants — and, while the senior defeat was deflating, the U-20 and minor teams had morale-lifting victories last week.

Seán Cavanagh has never come across as a fan of Roscommon so it wasn’t any surprise when the former Tyrone player dismissed them as “not a very good team” in his post-match analysis on ‘The Sunday Game’ live programme. In fairness, the normally more diplomatic Colm Cooper didn’t make much effort to disagree with Cavanagh.

The harsh reality is even the most ardent Rossie would struggle to poke holes in Cavanagh’s assessment. In the 12 months since the thrilling win in Castlebar, Roscommon have played 13 competitive matches and won just two. It’s not the type of form that’s going to have too many opponents quaking with fear when the draw for the All-Ireland championship is made.

Cooper referenced last June’s losses to Kildare and Cork. That match against his native county looks increasingly like a pivotal moment in Davy Burke’s tenure as manager. Roscommon haven’t looked like the same team since.

The received wisdom now is that the coaching influences of Mark McHugh and Gerry McGowan are badly missed. The counter-argument is that both those respected coaches, as well as the talented players who have stepped away, were involved in that Tullamore loss. However, it’s clear something is awry.

In contrast to the tight defensive structure last year — at least until June — opposition teams are consistently finding it easier to get scores than Roscommon are. The second-half fadeout last Sunday was similar to that which happened in many of this year’s national league matches.

The word on Friday night was that Roscommon officials were being told to expect a crowd of 20,000 to the resplendent surrounds of the new-look Hyde Park. That talk proved well wide of the mark with the official attendance clocking in at 13,967, despite April borrowing a day from high summer. This follows on from notably low attendances at other traditional crowd-pulling derbies such as Cavan v Monaghan and Kerry v Cork.

The fans are voting with their feet. The build-up to last Sunday’s match just wasn’t the same as in the past. Flags were slow to go up around Roscommon Town. Fans weren’t confident about the outcome but it wasn’t just the team’s poor form that led to the lack of anticipation.

In the midst of a cost of living crisis, people are going to think twice about going to championship matches that no longer have a sense of jeopardy. I am loath to mention the elephant in the room — the split season.

When even the president of the GAA, Jarlath Burns, gets criticised on social media for suggesting a possible return of the All-Ireland finals to September, it’s clear how fraught a subject this is. However, this has now gone beyond the tiresome refrain on social media claiming the anti-split season agenda is the work of GAA reporters in the national media who have no interest in the club game.

Burns didn’t become GAA President by not having the antennae of a politician. The unease about the truncated intercounty season is spreading far beyond the confines of a few journalists. Last week, former Mayo and Roscommon manager John Maughan articulated what many people feel but have been afraid to say.

“We’ve destroyed something unique and there is no excitement whatsoever leading into this game,” Maughan opined.

The league has been devalued to the point where counties actively tried to avoid reaching the Division One final this year. The provincial championships are losing their appeal, and the championship only really begins with the group phase in mid-May. The focus of the intercounty season is now concentrated on that two-month spell culminating in the All-Ireland final in late July.

For now though, that is not Roscommon’s concern. Management has to generate some momentum and find a way out of the abject form of the last 12 months. Diehard fans clung to the belief throughout the league that everything this season has been geared towards peaking for May and June. That theory is about to be tested in the harshest laboratory conditions.