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I would say the majority of Roscommon supporters have condemned the booing by a minority. Andy and his family are great people and the booing was never acceptable. However, what's a little aggravating is no recognition from the holier than thou Mayo fans (hello Martin Carney) of the booing on their side, which is also frequent at McHale park. They subjected Donie Smith to a full minute of jeers leading up to his free while Cillian O'Connor did not have to endure the same for his last minute free. They jeered nearly every decision by the ref, even jeered Cillian's yellow card when some neutral commentators saw it as a premeditated blow to the head that deserved red. To quote the great Willie Shakespare: physician heal thyself.

Cillian doesn't have the work rate for a HF? Are you for real? He's one of the hardest working forwards around ffs.

How exactly does the mobility of the roscommon MF explain why we lost two of our own kickouts unchallenged?? 

It's very easy for the faster guy to position himself under a wayaward kick before players with the turning radius of small trucks like the O'Sheas.

Until COC suddenly becomes faster and he learns how to tackle he's a serious liability tracking back. He's starting to pick up the reputation for dirt that he has had here and in Dublin for years on a national scale now, so his room for collar tackles and body checks is becoming much lower. If you really think he can mark someone like Conor Devanney or Sean Mulholly go right ahead but McStay will look at COC's channel as an open invitation to attack.

Have Roscommon morphed into some sort of a footballing stronghold recently ?

I must have missed that bit.

To be fair that was the best chance you'll have get of being in an all ireland semi final maybe ever.

A cold hard ruthess anaylsis would say you blew a huge opportunity against a Mayo team who played Keegan aside as poorly as they possibly could.

Where are all these great forwards Roscommon are supposed to have?

Yet scored more in their senior championship debut in Croke Park against Mayo than Dublin's fancy dan's did in the All-Ireland last year...

Ah now Syferus that's not nice calling the webmaster of the blog that. He puts a lot of work into that site and it must be a full time job for him moderating comments. We should all be like the two barbers Paddy Joe and John Regan on Midwest (on Facebook live the other night). Did any of ye see that - have a look at that and you won't regret it. That's what real fan banter should be like, great stories and respect for the opposition. Paddy Joe still scoring the last and first goal of the old and new millennia never gets old.

I have a bad feeling about Sunday. McStay will want to prove a point with how he was treated by the Mayo CB added to the fact that this is a young Ros team who have nothing to lose. Mayo on the other hand just about alive. I said before the Cork match that we'll probably lose at quarter final stage or semi. Sadly I think it will be the former. Unfortunately it will be to Ros.

In other news, the sky is blue..

A little note that brings both counties together - a monument was unveiled today at Shannon's Cross outside Loughglynn to honour John Morley and Henry Bryne and mark the terrible events of 37 years ago. It's a lovely little monument and worth stopping off at for anyone passing by.

Remember that like yesterday too. Had the pleasure of knowing John in his all too short life. A true great. May their souls rest in peace and enjoy a great game on Sunday from above.

I'm not worried about Croker factor. At the end of the day, Roscommon had not won in Salthill since 1988. If a team is good enough, they will overcome history. It will come down to the best team on Sunday. Mayo are overwhelming favourites because they are in the top 3 teams in the country, and were a very close second to Dublin last year. Truth be told, they should have won the first day. This is now the stage where Mayo start playing. As I said, our young team will need to have the performance of their lives.

Things not good in mayo camp, more injuries rumoured too. Not good lads not good at all.

I am hearing terrible exhaustion in Mayo camp. James Horan needed oxygen after speaking on over a thousand different podcasts this week. The man has been giving his all for the Mayo cause, on satelite, audio, traditional and new media. David Brady too is reported to have pulled a muscle in his jaw, as his valued opinion was sought everywhere. Supposedly there's relief in the Kerry and Dublin camps because there's been great worry that the Mayo media pundits are trying to claim the number one spot. Rumours that they are over the hill have been greatly exaggerated. Even Martin Carney is said to be back to his best.... on Midwest.

Ah now in fairness, they've reduced the odds from 4/1 to 3/1. We have not won a championship game in Croke Park since that amazing semi-final win over Armagh in 1980. 37 effin years. Put it this way, Tony McManus was a young garsoon that day and played mighty stuff to bring us back from the dead. Tony is an auld lad now and his young lad will be playing on Sunday. That's how long we are waiting for a win in Croke Park, when in 1980 we played some spellbinding football and looked to have the world at our feet. Mayo now win there regularly - every year they have big wins up there. They came within a whisker of winning the All-Ireland last year. Indeed, I'd say both Dublin and Kerry still fear them. They are rightly favourites. However, it's a wonderful opportunity for our very young team to make history.

Mayo will not bring 20 k to a qf, nearer 13-15k.

There'll be 40K Rossies to see their hero 

Two lads in that picture from Ballagh families. One is able to represent native county due to living in next parish.

It might sound like cutting hairs to outsiders but I wouldn't go round calling the Lavins of Corracoggil Ballagh men.. we're all Ros at heart anyways, none more so than Andy's own father.

I meant his Ma. From the Square.

Mayo will not bring 20 k to a qf, nearer 13-15k.

There'll be 40K Rossies to see their hero 

Two lads in that picture from Ballagh families. One is able to represent native county due to living in next parish.

[If Ros can go for the jugular they must have a chance.]

I believe the last year that Ros won their match following a Connacht final win was 1980. Surely it is time to do it again.
The psychology of this match will be worth a few points. If Ros can go for the jugular they must have a chance.

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Depends on whose jugular the are going for, doesn't it?
Going by their track record, it will definitely be their managers as they have a record second to none when it comes to given those gentlemen the bum's rush. McStay should be afraid, very afraid, if they implode as usual.
I mean Carr and Maughan were both army men and so was McStay and there's no reason to believe the sheep shaggers will treat him and different to the other two.

Carr got 3 years and Maughan 2. Half a decade of the pair of them was plenty. McStay will get a third year. Very spiteful post, Lar. I can see the pressure is getting to ye already.

Funny enough as I commiserated with a few Galway supporters in the Galway Bay after the Connacht final, they said sure the last time this happened we won the All-Ireland. It's a bit similar in that we are playing Connacht opposition again and make no mistake, if we lose to Mayo on Sunday, the Connacht final win, a great as it was, will mean nothing. It will be considered a once off ambush, and we'll be relegated to third best team in Connacht irrespective of what happens in the Galway/Kerry game. And righty so. Galway's dismantling of Donegal has got the media swanning over them again, and they were brilliant in Sligo yesterday. In the lead up to the inaugural 1/4 final in 2001, there was sense of doom in Roscommon that we would not beat them the second time. And so it came to be. The scenic route had sharpened Galway, fixed their issues from Tuam, while Ros were flat and game was over at half time. Despite how yesterday's game ended, it was evident that Mayo's forward play was much sharper by a long shot yesterday than the games against Galway and Derry. The players they need to play well for them are playing very well - eg the O'Connors, AOS, Keegan, etc.. It will be an intriguing game, very much a team of young guns versus the hardened dogs of war. I believe we have players unlike 2001 who will not go into this game with the psychological burdens of believing they will always lose to Mayo, as it's a team largely made up of the U21 teams used to winning. But it will take the game of their lives. They are young, and still without the physical condition of the current Mayo team, or the big game experience in Croke Park. Bring it on.

Well done Galway. Exhibition first half.Connacht championship was a much higher standard than Ulster this year.

Personally, I think they are just feeding the media some nonsense and the amadáns are falling for it hook, line and sinker. Does anyone remember when Tyrone were winning All-Irelands and Mickey said the secret was to do hardly any training. I didn't believe that then either.

There was a time when it looked like the GAA was dying in Dublin, as it faced intense pressure from soccer and rugby. If it died in Dublin, it would lose a lot of its magic everyplace else. I think it's great that we have a brilliant Dublin team. They are a joy to watch. But the efforts of teams like Kerry and Mayo trying to dethrone them have provided riveting drama. It will be no less so this year. Sometimes I even dream that we could be that team before the missus yells at me to wake up and go to work.

The typical commentary on Gaelic Football is like 1950s sermons by the Catholic Church. The holier than thous are not happy until they can highlight salacious and sinful acts, and morally depraved behaviour. Thankfully I was at the Connacht football final but I read in Tommy Conlon's column that the first question that Michael Lyster asked Pat Spillane at half time  is this what you call puke football. The thing is there was some wonderful football played in what are typically difficult conditions in Salt-hill, including what will be a contender for goal of the year. There's been some great stuff in this championship, and some mediocre stuff - no different to most years. But the commentators have a Jesus Christ ideal, a purity that most games can never live up to, so the analysis has to be about where the sinners are going wrong. The faithful eventually stop listening.