Mayo will make draw much tougher
Mayo senior football manager, Kevin McStay, rues a missed chance against Galway during last Sunday's Connacht final at Pearse Stadium. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
After Mayo’s Connacht football final defeat, Roscommon’s All-Ireland Series draw has become a whole lot tougher.
Davy Burke’s charges are going to have to produce their best football of the year to reach the knockout stages. A home game against Mayo and a closing battle with Cavan will decide the Primrose and Blue’s fate.
With total respect to Louth, Dublin will win the Leinster final, leaving Roscommon heading to Croke Park for their opening game of the championship. The Dubs are in a much better place than they were at the same stage 12 months ago, so Roscommon know that they will be facing a different animal.
Once Mayo lick their wounds and bounce back against Cavan, Roscommon will only have seven days to recover for what will become a “must win” assignment against Kevin McStay’s side. The final leg of the journey sees Cavan in the opposite corner and they will be every bit as good, if not better, than Kildare were in 2023.
The loss of Patrick Lynch is a massive blow for the Breffni Blues. But if you were a fourth seed, you would fancy a crack at Roscommon whose form has been very patchy this season.
Last year, Roscommon knew that they could head to Croke Park in the hope of giving Dublin a mighty battle with the safety net of beating Sligo a week later. This time around, how does Davy Burke manage the situation? The goalposts have moved with a ferocious battle against Mayo coming hot on the heels of the Dublin encounter.
Dress it up any way you want, but the second and third games will determine how Roscommon’s championship season plays out. One win from three games doesn’t seem a lot to ask but if a team lose their opening two games, they will be quickly running out of lifelines.
Roscommon’s best players haven’t clicked this season and are only playing in bursts. The players seem to be running on empty coming up the home straight in games. If Roscommon can fix those two key areas, then all may not be lost.
Dublin will expect to win their three games, Mayo will be hot favourites to secure two wins, which leaves a final day knockout contest between Roscommon and Cavan.
Over the past decade, both teams have produced some cracking battles in the league and championship. You can bet your bottom dollar that Cavan will be putting all their eggs into the Roscommon basket.
The Roscommon minor footballers are growing into the Connacht U-17 football championship. Following a third win on the trot, James Duignan’s side are like spring lambs, bouncing into a semi-clash against either Sligo or Galway.
Having already beaten both teams in the group stages, expectations are high that Roscommon can clinch a provincial final spot against a highly rated and confident Mayo team, with the carrot of a place in the All-Ireland U-17 quarter-finals dangling in front of them.
The young men wearing primrose and blue didn’t have to produce anything special to confirm their semi-final berth against Sligo last Friday evening. The game afforded the management a chance to introduce fringe players into a competitive environment.
Goals by Dean Casey and Seán McDonnell laid the foundation for the win, leaving Sligo requiring snookers to get back into a game that was riddled with errors.
Over the four-game series, the only blemish on the copybook was an opening round defeat to Mayo. But Roscommon are an improving team and the possibility of three more games would be the making of these players from a development point of view.
They have a good structure, are well-organised and have a gameplan of moving the ball quickly through the phases. Their game management has been impressive during the championship. Once they get ahead, they are able to maintain control until the finishing line.
An extra burden will now be placed on their shoulders ahead of the semi-final as they will be favourites to win, which brings pressure, especially against a team they have already beaten who will be mad for revenge. If Roscommon can climb the semi-final hurdle, they will revert back to the underdogs tag against Mayo in the final.
For now, they can take a well-deserved break to prepare for next Friday's semi-final in the knowledge that they are ticking a lot of boxes.
On National Dawn Chorus Day, my Tuesday Teaser choir was humming like the early morning birds.
Can you name the only tennis player (male or female) to win the four major tennis finals and Olympic Gold medal in the same year? It was Steffi Graf in 1998.
Liam Dooley, Ballyhaunis, was first to make sweet music, with Michael Scally, Ballaghaderreen; QPR, Frenchpark; PJ Martin, Kiltoom; Murt Hunt, Ballyhaunis; Paddy Conlon, Taughmaconnell; Luigi, Ballyhaunis; Mary Gilfillan, Kilmore; St. Ronan’s reader; John Croghan, Bundoran; Tony Reilly, Castlerea; Niamh Conway, RCC; Pat, Sligo; Mick Fetherston, Dublin; Paddy Boland, Youghal; Mary McCarthy, Holloway; Seán Toolan, Heston; Kevin Flanagan, Dartford; Marcus Ward, Lytham, and Michael Kearns, Clapham, also finding their voice.
Answers by e-mail to willieefc@gmail.com or by text to 086 8356227. This week’s teaser comes from Dublin.
Star pupil: Shane McGinley, as the Strokestown scoring machine posted 1-6 in Roscommon’s thrilling Connacht U-20 football championship victory.
Crucial win for: Wexford as they blew the Leinster SHC wide open with a brilliant win over Galway.
Much do better: Allowing Tipperary snatch a dramatic draw in injury time could prove costly for Waterford in the Munster SHC.
Spot of bother: Luton Town’s brave relegation battle in the Premier League looks likely to come up short.
Weekend highlight: What is it about Roscommon and Galway? Both counties have a habit of producing outstanding Connacht U-20/U-21 football finals. Last Saturday evening’s contest in Castlebar was up there with the best of them.
What a cracker: Can Arsenal bring an enthralling Premier League title race to the final day by winning at Old Trafford against Manchester United?
“Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed, and rearranged to relocate us to the place we’re meant to be.”
Ipswich Town is only the fourth club to achieve back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League in successive seasons.
MacHale Park in Castlebar has suddenly become a happy hunting ground for Roscommon.
Since 2019, the Primrose and Blue have won two Connacht U-20 championship titles and beaten Mayo twice in the provincial senior football championship at a venue that was once regarded as a “graveyard” for Roscommon football.
