Grehan believes Roscommon 'are good enough' to cause enormous upset

Although Roscommon will be aiming to cause an enormous upset when they face Armagh in this Saturday’s Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie semi-final at Kingspan Breffni (throw in at 3 p.m.), there is little doubting Mary Grehan’s belief in her side.

The Roscommon manager has reasons to be optimistic. Despite early defeats to Armagh and Laois, three wins on the bounce have helped Roscommon book a semi-final berth for the second time in three years.

With the Rossies facing possible elimination from the championship last time out against Tyrone, they produced their best performance of the year to secure a merited 1-20 to 2-6 triumph.

Consequently, Grehan feels that her side are growing in confidence with each passing game.

“I think we are going well at training. Our touch and skill work have come on a lot. Each game, we are getting more confident. We lost against Laois and Armagh, but we didn’t let that get us down. We knew that we were improving, and I firmly believe we are just as good as Armagh and Laois.

“We feel we can match these two teams. The girls are committed, and they know they are good enough. We must remember that despite the fact these girls are so young, they have won All-Irelands at underage. Armagh and Laois are very strong, and that is our yardstick.

“Every time we go to training, or we go into a game, we are always thinking of Laois and Armagh because that is the standard we have to get up to. These last two weeks were all about reaching a standard that will be good enough to try and beat Armagh,” the former dual star noted.

Armagh’s full forward line of Rachael Merry, Sinead Quinn and Corrina Doyle combined for 1-10 against Roscommon in the group game. The trio are all potent ball winners who thrive off quick deliveries to the inside line.

During that group game in Lisnamult, the Armagh full-forward line got no shortage of ball. The Roscommon ball carrier was too often swallowed up by a physical and well-drilled Armagh outfit.

On the sideline, Grehan continuously demands her side carry out the fundamentals of the game to a high level, something her charges will need to do now more than ever on Saturday.

“We all know our responsibilities. The girls are all aware of what their role is. When you are going out against teams like Laois and Armagh, who are so physical, we have to work and support each other. We have to cut out space. Armagh’s inside full-forward line are particularly good.

“The game in the first round of the championship, I couldn’t get over how they always hunted in packs. One of our players would have the ball and they surrounded her. That means we would have free players, but they have to get over and help,” Grehan noted.

Roscommon have been boosted by Claire McNeill and Grace Jones’ return from injuries, with the former overcoming the dreaded crucial ligament blow. Chloe Whyte Lennon’s return from Australia brings valuable experience to the side as the Athleague woman started against Tipperary in the All-Ireland semi-final two years ago.

Molly Tully hasn’t put a foot wrong in her first year of adult intercounty camogie, having started the last two crunch games between the sticks.

The Roscommon manager feels there is a close bond within the group, something she hopes can help her side upset the odds on Saturday.

“We never give up. That is the great thing about them. There has never been any negativity in the dressing room, even after the two early losses. We learned from our defeats and said that is where we need to be. We just knew we had to be quicker and faster and be much more clinical.

“We just don’t put down our heads. They are a very tight bunch. We have a small panel but that is in our favour. There is great atmosphere at training. There is a great buzz.

“Even after the match in Ballyforan against Tyrone, there was a great buzz. People can see huge improvements in them, so hopefully we can show that again,” she concluded.