County U-20 footballers’ ship remains on course
John McGuinness and his Roscommon U-20 team-mates will be hoping to reach this year's Connacht final at Sligo's expense in Bekan on Wednesday evening. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
Defending champions Roscommon are still on course to retain their Connacht U-20 football crown.
Three teams remain in the race for provincial honours, with the two counties who have shared the last four provincial titles, Roscommon and Sligo, clashing in the semi-final on this Wednesday evening in the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence, Bekan.
Table toppers Mayo, who have been the form team in the group stages, can put their feet up after claiming the bonus prize of direct qualification for the final.
Roscommon, who are unbeaten in three games, are building momentum as manager Cian Smith edges closer to putting the jigsaw pieces together, just as the championship cranks up in temperature.
After losing out to Mayo, Roscommon beat Sligo by 1-16 to 0-10. Since then, the Yeats County has found form and confidence. Their victory over Galway provided the spark that ignited their championship campaign.
No doubt, they will fancy their chances of reversing the earlier result against the Primrose and Blue. But after suffering a 5-22 to 2-16 defeat to Mayo last Wednesday evening, they must pick themselves up for this last four showdown.
Roscommon did what they had to do against an understrength Leitrim side that were already out of contention. The Rossies posted 6-17, but the key takeaway was the return of captain Robert Heneghan from injury.
Roscommon’s panel is getting stronger. Alongside Henaghan’s return, Brian Greene impressed as a second-half substitute. The emergence of Conor Grogan in the half-back line is like nailing down a new signing. The Roscommon Gaels man has bided his time, but he grabbed his opportunity against Leitrim, crowning an excellent display by scoring two points from play.
The full-forward line of John Curran, Rory Carthy and John McGuiness blasted 4-11 between them, underlining Roscommon’s riches up front as Ryan Dowling pulls the strings from centre-forward.
At the moment, it looks like that it will take something special from either Roscommon or Sligo to knock Mayo off their lofty perch. But if Roscommon can continue their upward trajectory, they can earn another shot at the Green and Red in the decider.
I had the pleasure to visit O'Rourke Park in Castlerea for a Connacht Colleges’ Juvenile C Football Championship quarter-final between Abbey Community College, Boyle, and Roscommon Community College recently.
With time to spare, I embarked on a spying mission with RCC student Adam Reddington. We were blown away by what I would describe as a hidden sporting paradise in West Roscommon — from the golf club on the way into town on the Ballinlough Road right through to the far end as you arrive from the Ballintubber/Castleplunkett side.
The outstanding facilities cater for so many sports — they have to be seen to be believed.
Castlerea is a town with so much to offer in terms of sport. The young Rory McIlroys have the beautiful golf club to hone their skills. Castlerea St. Kevin’s GAA Club has developed two wonderful pitches and a beautiful walkway around the second pitch.
Next is the famous Celtic Park, home of Castlerea Celtic, and linking all this is the Demesne walk from Clonalis House.
The outdoor swimming pool is a must to visit this summer. Castlerea CS is up on the right where the school has its own sports pitch.
Then there’s the Hub, which now forms such an integral part of the community. After all that, you can continue your walk, surrounded by nature and beauty, out to the creamery.
During our walk, Adam and myself had a great chat with former Castlerea CS teacher and renowned basketball coach Joe Henry and his wife Martina who were out enjoying the sights of the town.
On the field, Abbey Community College, Boyle, aided by some excellent footballers, won the match and have reached the final with Mohill waiting in the wings.
Last week I threw in a curve ball for my Roscommon Herald readers.
When was the last time the same county won the men’s and ladies’ NFL Division One titles?
This caught out a few readers as eaten bread was soon forgotten. The answer only occurred recently when Kerry captured both Division One League titles.
QPR, Frenchpark, caught the early worm, with Peter Keenan, Ballinameen; Michael Scally, Ballaghaderreen; Liam Dooley, Ballyhaunis; Murt Hunt, Ballyhaunis; Mick Fetherston, Dublin; Pat, Sligo; Seán Farrell, Dublin; Mary Gilfillan, Kilmore; Luigi, Ballyhaunis; Paddy Boland, Youghal; Mary McCarthy, Holloway; Seán Tooolan, Heston; Marcus Ward, Lytham; Kevin Flanagan, Dartford, and Michael Kearns, Clapham also providing a safe pair of hands.
This week’s Teaser: Can you name the player who scored the first two-pointer in this year’s GAA championship?
Answers by e-mail to willieefc@gmail.com or by text to 086 8356227. This week’s teaser came from Dublin.
*Star pupil: Darragh McCarthy who scored 0-11 for the Tipperary U-20 hurlers in midweek before firing over 0-8 for the seniors against Limerick on Sunday.
*Crucial win for: Sligo Rovers against Waterford FC in their bid to move away from the bottom of the League of Ireland Premier Division.
*Must do better: A disappointing start for Galway as they were blown away by Kilkenny in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.
*Spot of bother: Roscommon have only two wins from seven games, including suffering knockout punches against Monaghan and Galway recently.
*Weekend highlight: The Munster SHC is the gift that keeps on giving after two epic draws on Sunday.
*What a cracker: It takes two to tango and I expect Armagh and Tyrone to take everyone around the dance floor for a performance in Clones that wouldn’t look out of place in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.
“You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”
Armagh and Tyrone are meeting in the Ulster SFC for the first time since 2012. Their last four encounters in the championship have been in the All-Ireland Series, with two wins apiece.
It’s FA Cup semi-finals weekend. The dream final pairing would be Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest but logic suggests that it be Manchester City and Aston Villa making the return trip to London for the final in the middle of May.
