Roscommon v Mayo Connacht final 2011

[macdanger2]

Plenty of mayomen support sligo rovers too so kindly leave us out of it, Congrats to Mayo on a deserved victory although prematch i did think roscommon would win.

I actually follow Sligo Rovers a bit myself but you know what I mean......

[macdanger2]

Good foul to give away by Gardiner for the last Roscommon point

[SLIGONIAN]

Plenty of mayomen support sligo rovers too so kindly leave us out of it, Congrats to Mayo on a deserved victory although prematch i did think roscommon would win.

I actually follow Sligo Rovers a bit myself but you know what I mean......

Every county has idiot supporters, im sure 99% of roscommon fans bahaved well. Anyway enjoy tonight and comiserations to ros although the minors should lift the gloom somewhat.

[ross4life]

[quote ]
Congrats to Mayo on a deserved victory although prematch i did think roscommon would win.
[/quote]
Indeed you did Sligonian & knowing your track record of predicting results i feared that was the final nail in our coffin 

[ballinaman]

I was behind the hospital end goal and the weather was like something out of the rapture.Shocking.
A win is a win is a win as they say, would have gladly taken a Connacht title prior to the championship. I leave the in depth analysis to our more seasoned posters.
Both Feeneys upped their games in the second half, both were very loose in the first half and if Roscommon drove the ball in earlier, would have done some damage. Thought Caff should have been in earlier that being said. Roscommon midfield is serious, Mannion is a quality player.
Cillian O'Connor showed great bottle with the frees, and didn't let getting pulled up by Collins disrupt his routine, could have easily rattled him and it didn't. Doherty, who was a goal machine in the league hasn't had a sniff of one in the 3 championship games now, need to sort that.

[SLIGONIAN]

[quote ]
Congrats to Mayo on a deserved victory although prematch i did think roscommon would win.

Indeed you did Sligonian & knowing your track record of predicting results i feared that was the final nail in our coffin 
[/quote] I finished second in the NFL predictions league i'll have you know AND i won money on a harps, coolera, smg treble, and armagh, donegal, kildare, limerick accumaleter and roscommoin minors, 3 bets 100 euro profit,$$$

Very few would of predicted kilbrides lack of influence and the lack of directness and speed of supply into either front 2..that game imo was there for ros today.. credit to mayo they did bottle up space in front but ros didnt help there own cause.

[m@yoman]

Just watching the Sunday Game here.....Spillane would really annoy youu...as every poster has said here, the conditions were absolutely terrible...and he still has to have a dig about it being a bad match....

Did Hayes say much on TV3 after the match after his Newstalk  comments during the week?!

[SLIGONIAN]

Just watching the Sunday Game here.....Spillane would really annoy youu...as every poster has said here, the conditions were absolutely terrible...and he still has to have a dig about it being a bad match....

Did Hayes say much on TV3 after the match after his Newstalk  comments during the week?!

Hayes sent a few digs mayos way before the game with brady sitting beside him, he seems to have a chip on his shoulder tbh, dunno why. I didnt see after match analysis, Its easy for spillane in his nice studio to slag the football in those conditions, 24 scores in those conditions is no mean feat imo, i was playing myself in championship and it was horrendus. Very few outside the province rate Connacht, i personnally think its premature and we should be judged on how connacht teams do outside. Galway werent far off meath so no disgrace there, leitrim werent bad against down but we were poor against wicklow but were still on a different galaxy after last yr, so itll be interesting to see how roscommon and mayo do now, im glad ros have 13 days to recover.

[PadraicHenryPearse]

anyone any stats on wides/frees/kickouts won etc.

[ross4life]

[quote ]
Congrats to Mayo on a deserved victory although prematch i did think roscommon would win.

Indeed you did Sligonian & knowing your track record of predicting results i feared that was the final nail in our coffin 

I finished second in the NFL predictions league i'll have you know AND i won money on a harps, coolera, smg treble, and armagh, donegal, kildare, limerick accumaleter and roscommoin minors, 3 bets 100 euro profit,$$$

Very few would of predicted kilbrides lack of influence and the lack of directness and speed of supply into either front 2..that game imo was there for ros today.. credit to mayo they did bottle up space in front but ros didnt help there own cause.
[/quote]
Was pulling your leg Sligonian in fairness you did tip our Minors to win but TBH i had no doubts myself with them. It seemed Kilbride was carrying a knock from early on & from then on he didn't contest 50/50 balls. He's our most injury prone player & i feel if today was a league,club game he would have been taken off at half time, Shame we didn't get to see Kilbride at his best today as if Shine had some help in the forward line we would have won that game.

[ross matt]

First of all heartiest congratulations to Mayo. The best team won. Yes we could have won but had we done we would have stolen it. The condistions were horrendous. Driving wind... constant rain..... pitch like an ice rink and little or no light. That weather has to be a factor when judging the quality of the match on TV. You simply had to be there to appreciate how difficult it was for both sets of players. The ref didnt help in the sense he was completely inconsisten in awarding frees leaving players not knowing how much or how little they could get away with when tackling.

Mayo adapted best to the conditions I felt. Like I feared they improved from the Galway match in the sense they were much more economical with possession. They showed once again a great willingness to win dirty ball and they were definitely physically stronger than us in most positions. James Horan will be a happy man tonight and they will improve again before the quarterfinals where they may surprise alot of people. Midfield is possibly their weak area in terms of winning primary possession. Finneran cleanly caught or knocked down alot of kickouts today.

For us it was a really bad day at the office. We had more than enough possession to win the match but bizarrely in the first half our half backs and midfield refused to kick long and constantly carried ball in to the tackle. Totally disagree with Cosmo that it was down to Mayo pressure. There was pllenty opportunity to let the ball do the work with that wind. Devenney was a liability in the manner in which he swept back and constanstly went on solo runs that were not suited to the conditions. Shine missed 2 easy frees but hit some really long difficult ones and in general won his share of ball in play. Kilbride was either carrying a knock or just didnt want to know on the day. I felt O'Grady was in trouble on his marker and he and devenney could have been subsitiuted earlier. Dineen was a bizarre move by Fergie and co. He was always going to give away frees and lucky to stay on the field. O'Connor, Domnican and Ward + the backs in general did well as regards their basic duties.

That being said we were still in contention until the very end. Had Donie kept the ball down we could have had a goal not a point and the mayo keeper made a superb save of what looked a definite point. But in general our shot selection and general decision making let us down. Mayo were just more mature and experienced. We measured ourselves against them and are just not there yet. No excuses.

However I think we can regroup for the qualifiers. This management and young side are too dedicacted to throw the towel in now and a run in the back door would be very beneficial in terms of playing top opposition. It was heartening for the future to see the minors hammer a well regarded Galway side today. Better times ahead.

That's as fine an analysis of the game as we'll read in any paper tomorrow, and better than you'll read in most of them. Hard luck Matt. No Rossie will cheer for you as hard as I shall in a fortnight (with the greatest of respect to Ard M(h)aca and Tír Eoghain, of course).

Cheers Iolar. Hope both Connacht sides do well in their next matches. Missed the Sunday game but heard Spillane was dissing the match without allowing for the conditions so Connacht football is the poor relation again.

[ross matt]

Just home from the game, great to win today, congrats to Horan and the lads. Retaining div 1 status and winning Connacht makes this year a success for his first year.

The weather was unreal, probably didn't look as bad on TV as it actually was. The wind was so strong that on a few occasions the kickouts held up and started moving backwards!!!

Overall, I thought we at least broke even in midfield in the first half but lost it it for large parts of the second half when it looked like we might pull away at the start of the half. As it was, some of the frees we got to win it were soft enough (although I don't know what the ref was at pulling O'Connor for time-wasting when we were 4 points down!!!).

My player ratings would be:

Hennelley - 8, unreal catch at the end when it would have been easier to pop it over the bar and two Rossies waiting for it if he dropped it.
Higgins - 8, Excellent in the first half when playing as the extra man and rarely lost the ball
A Feeney - 7, decent game without being outstanding, not sure why he was taken off
Cunniffe - 7.5, played well and other than losing the ball in a bad position in the first half by the sideline, I thought he did well
R Feeney - 7.5, caught out a couple of times in the 2nd half when he should have gone down on the ball but he hoovered up some very important balls towards the end
Vaughan - 5, struggled badly in the first half and was responsible for two scores where he gave away the ball. Settled down well in the 2nd half.
Mort - 8.5, showed great willingness to get on the ball and drove through to create a point in the first half
S O'Se - 7, worked hard but probably not on the ball enough
A O'Se - 7.5, excellent in the first half but I think the challenge from the wing back left him very shook
McLoughlin - 6.5, great point in the first half but didn't win as many breaks as he should have
Dillon - 5.5, perhaps a bit harsh on him but as captain and our best player the bar is set high and he didn't reach it. Might have went for goal instead of cutting back and taking his point.
Moran - 6.5, got a v good point in the 1st half (although I was sure it was CO'C at the time!) and showed well for the ball but seemed to continuously cut back inside when the conditions didn't suit
O'Connor - 8.5, excellent Connacht final debut for a 19 year old, the handy early frees really settled him down. Showed a lot of cuteness to win some soft frees in the 2nd half.
Freeman - 6, showed well but couldn't seem to hold the ball at all. Came very far out the pitch when he might have been better closer to goal. Should have held the ball and buried it instead instead of flicking it on to Mort
Doherty - 5.5, very quiet but will have better days when the ball in drier and the open spaces of Croker will suit him and Freeman.

Varley - 7.5, great point at the end and won a good free as well. Could be in contention to start instead of Doc
Gardiner - 6.5, his effort for a point looked doomed until the wind caught it and just sneaked it over but they all count. Also ballooned a pass at the very end when you might have expected a cooler head from him.
McGarrity - 5.5, never got into it at all but crucially robbed the ball in the middle of the pitch in the lead up to the last point. Will be better with a few more training sessions
Caff - 5.5, like McG, never got into it. Would have put him on intsead of Vaughan rather than Feeney.
Kilcullen - not really on long enough to be rated. Thought it strange that he was brought on as blood sub and McG as the proper sub.

In general the forwards were poor (CO'C excepted) but they will surely be better on a drier day. JH kept his best form for Croker and hopefully it will be the same with this team.

I wouldn't fear meeting any of the teams left in the qualifiers except Cork who could do serious damage to us.

Ross will be disappointed tonight as they could easily have won this one with a little luck and more composure. They should travel to play Tyrone / Armagh (Tyrone IMO) with confidence though and hopefully we'll see ye in Croker later this year.

One last thing - the behaviour of the Rossie supporters behind the goal was disgraceful - booing and jeering O'Connor as he took frees at that end. That kind of sh*te has no place in the GAA, let them head away up to watch Sligo Rovers or something if that's what they want.

Was embarrassed by it. They did it to the Galway minors also. Hateful shite that should be left to soccer matches.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Just home from the game, great to win today, congrats to Horan and the lads. Retaining div 1 status and winning Connacht makes this year a success for his first year.

The weather was unreal, probably didn't look as bad on TV as it actually was. The wind was so strong that on a few occasions the kickouts held up and started moving backwards!!!

Overall, I thought we at least broke even in midfield in the first half but lost it it for large parts of the second half when it looked like we might pull away at the start of the half. As it was, some of the frees we got to win it were soft enough (although I don't know what the ref was at pulling O'Connor for time-wasting when we were 4 points down!!!).

My player ratings would be:

Hennelley - 8, unreal catch at the end when it would have been easier to pop it over the bar and two Rossies waiting for it if he dropped it.
Higgins - 8, Excellent in the first half when playing as the extra man and rarely lost the ball
A Feeney - 7, decent game without being outstanding, not sure why he was taken off
Cunniffe - 7.5, played well and other than losing the ball in a bad position in the first half by the sideline, I thought he did well
R Feeney - 7.5, caught out a couple of times in the 2nd half when he should have gone down on the ball but he hoovered up some very important balls towards the end
Vaughan - 5, struggled badly in the first half and was responsible for two scores where he gave away the ball. Settled down well in the 2nd half.
Mort - 8.5, showed great willingness to get on the ball and drove through to create a point in the first half
S O'Se - 7, worked hard but probably not on the ball enough
A O'Se - 7.5, excellent in the first half but I think the challenge from the wing back left him very shook
McLoughlin - 6.5, great point in the first half but didn't win as many breaks as he should have
Dillon - 5.5, perhaps a bit harsh on him but as captain and our best player the bar is set high and he didn't reach it. Might have went for goal instead of cutting back and taking his point.
Moran - 6.5, got a v good point in the 1st half (although I was sure it was CO'C at the time!) and showed well for the ball but seemed to continuously cut back inside when the conditions didn't suit
O'Connor - 8.5, excellent Connacht final debut for a 19 year old, the handy early frees really settled him down. Showed a lot of cuteness to win some soft frees in the 2nd half.
Freeman - 6, showed well but couldn't seem to hold the ball at all. Came very far out the pitch when he might have been better closer to goal. Should have held the ball and buried it instead instead of flicking it on to Mort
Doherty - 5.5, very quiet but will have better days when the ball in drier and the open spaces of Croker will suit him and Freeman.

Varley - 7.5, great point at the end and won a good free as well. Could be in contention to start instead of Doc
Gardiner - 6.5, his effort for a point looked doomed until the wind caught it and just sneaked it over but they all count. Also ballooned a pass at the very end when you might have expected a cooler head from him.
McGarrity - 5.5, never got into it at all but crucially robbed the ball in the middle of the pitch in the lead up to the last point. Will be better with a few more training sessions
Caff - 5.5, like McG, never got into it. Would have put him on intsead of Vaughan rather than Feeney.
Kilcullen - not really on long enough to be rated. Thought it strange that he was brought on as blood sub and McG as the proper sub.

In general the forwards were poor (CO'C excepted) but they will surely be better on a drier day. JH kept his best form for Croker and hopefully it will be the same with this team.

I wouldn't fear meeting any of the teams left in the qualifiers except Cork who could do serious damage to us.

Ross will be disappointed tonight as they could easily have won this one with a little luck and more composure. They should travel to play Tyrone / Armagh (Tyrone IMO) with confidence though and hopefully we'll see ye in Croker later this year.

One last thing - the behaviour of the Rossie supporters behind the goal was disgraceful - booing and jeering O'Connor as he took frees at that end. That kind of sh*te has no place in the GAA, let them head away up to watch Sligo Rovers or something if that's what they want.

Was embarrassed by it. They did it to the Galway minors also. Hateful shite that should be left to soccer matches.

Fair play Matt for admitting it. I didn't so much mind it for the senior game, because it has become sadly common, but doing it to 17 year olds in the minor game was awful IMHO.

[macdanger2]

There was a crowd of young mayo lads at it 2-3 years back, used to congregate behind the goals at matches. Since they finished the junior cert though, they seem to have given it up!!

[parkoncrokie]

Just watching the Sunday Game here.....Spillane would really annoy youu...as every poster has said here, the conditions were absolutely terrible...and he still has to have a dig about it being a bad match....

Did Hayes say much on TV3 after the match after his Newstalk  comments during the week?!

wouldnt take much notice of spillane he reminds me of the cartoon woody woodpecker.I  had
predicted on the way home from the matsh he would use the word junior football but insted he
was ranting on about moodeys or something.