Roscommon v Mayo Connacht final 2011

[moysider]

Interesting preview from former Roscommon manager John Maughan in the Mayo Advertiser:

I have been chatting to a few of my Roscommon friends All the pressure of this final is on Roscommon and it will be interesting to see if they crack under it.

That must have been a short conversation 
How is there ANY pressure on Ros? We already won a Connacht 12 months ago , a year ahead of our usual 10 year schedule . Most genuine Ros fans see it as a test as to where we are and what progress we've made ( if any) and let's see how it goes.

Don t be coddin yourself Rossfan If you think that I suspect you are in a small minority. But I doubt you are going to settle for a good showing against a Div one side. You don t go from winning the bloody thing last year to putting on a good show against what would be percieved in Roscommon as a county anybody can take in the championship. And with Ros being by all accounts better than last year.
  Most Roscommon fans would have less respect for Mayo football than likes of Liam Hayes. That they see us as a yardstick to measure their progress is having a laugh. I don t have to wait until 1 o clock on Sunday, when I ll see and hear that confidence in the Hyde, to know that they ll be bubbling like they always have been with only a couple of exceptions.

Jasus Moysider I don't know who or where they are all these Rossies who have no respect for ye're abilities or who have great confidence in our lads.
We really don't know how good (or bad ) we are and Sunday will give us some answers.As for winning it last year... only 9 of that team line out Sunday.
Mar a dúirt an Tatler  " Nílimid gan dóchas" ach .....

Abilities? What abilities? The ability to lose back to back v Sligo and Lonford. The ability to scrape home agoinst London? The ability to tank ye by 20 points 2 years ago and then manage to lose to a Meath team that were not much better than ye were, a few weeks later? I wouldn t expect anybody to respect that. I doubt we got much respect either for losing All Irelands and those teams are well gone. I d love to get a chance to lose an AI now.

I doubt the winning team will know how good they are on Sunday evening or fans will have many answers. And anybody that has learned anything won t be saying much out loud. Unlikely we ll get two good performances and a worthy winner on Sunday. The weather might play a part and a dry calm day could produce a cracker but a windy showry day could produce fare similar to 1993 ( terrible game but one of my favourite finals), but I won t be surprised if the medie boys are grinding their teeth well before ht like in the Mayo/Galway game. So Mayo s decent 2 nd half performance in poor conditions was dismissed with the focus being on how brutal Galway were supposed to have been. And in fairness they were at least made look very ordinary It ll be the same on Sunday I suspect with the losers presented as a dead loss and the winners by association not being a pile better because the opposition were such much muck. That s just the way football is portrayed in the province. Even when Mayo/Galway were producing classics in the 90s the games drew very little favourable reviews in the national media at the time.

On Sunday we ll have the after match winners interview where mom says that Mayo/Ros much better than they showed today and that it just didn t happen for them on the day and that we can take too much from our performance because the next match will be a big step up blah, blah, blah. Just the way it is.

[moysider]

I wonder what the odds would be if Roscommon were a Div 1 team hadn't lost to Mayo for 10 years & beat them by 20pts the last time they played them?

I don't think it's possible for a Mayo head to put the boot on the other foot. Even when they comfortably beat Galway they where trying to pin the favourite tag on us, how we would love any type over Galway never mind a win pulling up.The truth is we got the monkey off our back by winning Connacht last July for the first time in nine long hard years however we are still work in progress a lot of the team is made up of 22/23 year olds & Kevin Higgins,Niall Carty,Donal Ward,Senan O'Grady & Senan Kilbride will be starting in their first ever Senior Connacht final. What Mayo have over us is vast experience in the like's of Keith Higgins,Alan Dillon,Andy Moran,Ronan McGarrity etc.. those guys could lead a sinking ship to safety.For me home advantage will only come into effect if happen to be still in the game with 10mins to go so here's hoping.

P.S i wouldn't pay much attention to Liam Hayes he clearly hate's Mayo & anyways he went for a easy Sligo win last year.

As for pinning favouritism on Ros, the boys were hardly off the pitch v Galway when Colm O Rourke was pinning his coulours firmly to the Ros mast. Now last time I looked O Rourke was not a Mayoman and most people would respect his judgement whatever about the others mention. So it is not only Mayomen pinning favouritism on Ros.

The experience tag doesn t stand up either. Yeah they have experience but it s mostly bad experience . Like losing AIs by cricket scores.  Losing to Sligo, Derry and Longford in embarrassing circumstances. I ve time for those boys you mentioned but they have to lead a sinking ship to safety yet. That s the reason I fear that none of the neutral pundits trust us. I suspect that rather than being admirers of Ros a lot of them just dont trust Mayo.

[ross4life]

O'Rourke is leitrim man he probably was influenced by our performance v them? Down showed leitrim's worth by beating them by without getting out of 2nd gear (a Down team that struggled to beat Clare the week before) TBH to see Horan come out after the Galway game & use our minor win as reason why we should be favourites was pathetic.

Fair point about these players having mostly bad experience but this is the Connacht championship & they have mostly good experience.

[Beard]

There was some crazy stuff posted before the Leitrim game with fellas saying that it would be a draw or that Leitrim would  win in fortress Carrick etc etc. Leitrim are rubbish and Roscommon go into this game without a clue as to how good they are. Hence Mayo have to assume the mantel of favourites after out scoring Galway by 1-8 to 0-1 in the second half of their semi. It has been well documented how poor Galway were but it's the most concrete evidence of form that we have to hand in my view. If the game were in Castlebar there wouldn't be many going for a Roscommon win. 

I recall a post from a Mayo poster here a few years ago where Mayo were described as being in "permanent transition". I get a sense that this may still be the case and Roscommon, while younger, are a bit further along in terms of building a team. Some of Mayo's result in the league were a bit all over the place. I'd imagine the management were really upset after the Dublin game - to concede 4 goals in a half of football is extremely careless. Roscommon are used to winning games this year and if we are still in touch with 10 minutes to go I'll be reasonably confident that we will pull through.

First and foremost I hope that this is a good game of football although high winds seem to be forecast which won't help. It will be interesting to see how good both teams are. I think it's vital for a Connacht team to make it past the quarter final stage and if either team can achieve this they will have made progress this season regardless of the outcome on Sunday.

Anyway hopefully home advantage will swing it for us and we will hold on to the Nestor Cup for another year!
 

[Halfquarter]

Things must be looking up for Mayo - Liam Hayes has forecast a 'relatively easy win for Roscommon' (last night's 'Off The Ball' on Newstalk). Not only that, but Mayo's record over the last 25 years makes them a 'failed entity' according to Liameen. In fact, he doesn't see any evidence as to why Mayo should be considered one of the big two in Connaught!!!

Fortunately Eugene McGee was on hand to talk some sense. Although he went for a Ros win too.

Ros may win, but I don't see it being 'relatively easy'...

God I can't stand that bollix. He dedicates his summer to having a swipe at Mayo football every year.

i used to feel the same way but then i just stopped reading the shite he wrote and stopped listening to him  and guess what it worked, He hasn't a clue and comes across as a very bitter person   

He wrote an article in The Mail last Thursday (14'Th) also ,same old rubbish ,belittling Mayo over the last 25 years,no real analysis,lazy journalism,written by a bitter person,best ignored.

[moysider]

Things must be looking up for Mayo - Liam Hayes has forecast a 'relatively easy win for Roscommon' (last night's 'Off The Ball' on Newstalk). Not only that, but Mayo's record over the last 25 years makes them a 'failed entity' according to Liameen. In fact, he doesn't see any evidence as to why Mayo should be considered one of the big two in Connaught!!!

Fortunately Eugene McGee was on hand to talk some sense. Although he went for a Ros win too.

Ros may win, but I don't see it being 'relatively easy'...

God I can't stand that bollix. He dedicates his summer to having a swipe at Mayo football every year.

i used to feel the same way but then i just stopped reading the shite he wrote and stopped listening to him  and guess what it worked, He hasn't a clue and comes across as a very bitter person   

He wrote an article in The Mail last Thursday (14'Th) also ,same old rubbish ,belittling Mayo over the last 25 years,no real analysis,lazy journalism,written by a bitter person,best ignored.

Still, he is a card holding, multiple AI winning journalist. His opinions are widely respected and are as creditable as McGee, Brolly or Spillane. He, like them, influence people s opinion. Especially people that cannot inform themselves and need these 'expert' views.

[muppet]

Anagrams of Liam Hayes - for scientific purposes of course.

A yah Slime
I Lay Shame
Aha my lies
Ay lie sham

[moysider]

There was some crazy stuff posted before the Leitrim game with fellas saying that it would be a draw or that Leitrim would  win in fortress Carrick etc etc. Leitrim are rubbish and Roscommon go into this game without a clue as to how good they are. Hence Mayo have to assume the mantel of favourites after out scoring Galway by 1-8 to 0-1 in the second half of their semi. It has been well documented how poor Galway were but it's the most concrete evidence of form that we have to hand in my view. If the game were in Castlebar there wouldn't be many going for a Roscommon win. 

I recall a post from a Mayo poster here a few years ago where Mayo were described as being in "permanent transition". I get a sense that this may still be the case and Roscommon, while younger, are a bit further along in terms of building a team. Some of Mayo's result in the league were a bit all over the place. I'd imagine the management were really upset after the Dublin game - to concede 4 goals in a half of football is extremely careless. Roscommon are used to winning games this year and if we are still in touch with 10 minutes to go I'll be reasonably confident that we will pull through.

First and foremost I hope that this is a good game of football although high winds seem to be forecast which won't help. It will be interesting to see how good both teams are. I think it's vital for a Connacht team to make it past the quarter final stage and if either team can achieve this they will have made progress this season regardless of the outcome on Sunday.

Anyway hopefully home advantage will swing it for us and we will hold on to the Nestor Cup for another year!

I ll put it this way. I m going to be very disappointed if we lose on Sunday. Now that I ve got that out of the way I ll tell you why. As you point out our league performances were all over the place - sometimes in the same game. However when Horan had his 'preferred' team on the field we did well. At least what I thought was his preferred team. As a result when push came to shove we got good second halves v Galway, Dublin and Cork but finished poorly v Kerry and Armagh. Also in championship v Galway we were a different team v Galway in second half when we got stuck in. Contrary to some opinion on here I think Ros will need to win this game early as we re a second half team. Horan is pretty much picking the shape of a team I was talking about in Feburary with the exception of the non inclusion of James Burke. Ronan (whom I suspect he was looking to anchor the team) is out but SOS is a big addition from the league. Harte continued absense is a big minus and I still think he would have preferred Caff at 6 but still the shape looks close to our best league bits. And those league bits like the 15 mins blitz v Galway were very impressive - or maybe that was just myself.

[ross matt]

I'm not going to call it for the sake of calling it as I really dont know how its going to go. A draw would not be a surprise. I think (hope) the days of us being hammered by Mayo are gone for the immediate future anyway plus I think this Roscommon side are too good to let that happen. So it will be a close game.

That being said this is still a team in progress for the Rossies. Underage structures have improved dramatically over the last decade and they're beginning to bear fruit. Fergie is an excellent and well organised manager who just doesnt do hype. They will be a serious outfit inside the next 2-3 years.

Mayo are difficult to figure under Horan. They've mixed the good with the bad but maybe thats expected when a new manager overhauls playing personnel and styles etc. What was evident versus Galway was they've become much more mentally tough and work ethics have increased. On another day in the past they would have lost a match like that after playing so poorly and wasting so much possession in the first half.

I think in Shine and Kilbride Roscommon have more clinical finishers than Mayo. But in the likes of Moran, Dillon and Mcgarrity waiting in the wings Mayo have more experience and maturity. Midfield as it always is will be hugely important.

This is a genuine test of progress for Roscommon but if they compete well and lose narrowly they will do well in the qualifiers I feel as they will learn and regroup. Mayo will be bitterly disappointed if they dont win this and may not feature in the back door.

Best of luck to the Rossies plus the minor side also. I hope for all  sides tomorrow that the weather doesnt ruin the quality of the matches because Connacht football could do with decent showpieces.

[IolarCoisCuain]

I'm not going to call it for the sake of calling it as I really dont know how its going to go. A draw would not be a surprise. I think (hope) the days of us being hammered by Mayo are gone for the immediate future anyway plus I think this Roscommon side are too good to let that happen. So it will be a close game.

That being said this is still a team in progress for the Rossies. Underage structures have improved dramatically over the last decade and they're beginning to bear fruit. Fergie is an excellent and well organised manager who just doesnt do hype. They will be a serious outfit inside the next 2-3 years.

Mayo are difficult to figure under Horan. They've mixed the good with the bad but maybe thats expected when a new manager overhauls playing personnel and styles etc. What was evident versus Galway was they've become much more mentally tough and work ethics have increased. On another day in the past they would have lost a match like that after playing so poorly and wasting so much possession in the first half.

I think in Shine and Kilbride Roscommon have more clinical finishers than Mayo. But in the likes of Moran, Dillon and Mcgarrity waiting in the wings Mayo have more experience and maturity. Midfield as it always is will be hugely important.

This is a genuine test of progress for Roscommon but if they compete well and lose narrowly they will do well in the qualifiers I feel as they will learn and regroup. Mayo will be bitterly disappointed if they dont win this and may not feature in the back door.

Best of luck to the Rossies plus the minor side also. I hope for all  sides tomorrow that the weather doesnt ruin the quality of the matches because Connacht football could do with decent showpieces.

I hope the weather is good too but I don't think a showpiece is as important as one or both of these teams winning a quarter final. Connacht football will never be respected and we have to stop hoping it will be. Down were underdogs against Kildare after beating Kerry, as I recall, and Down aren't even from Connacht.

But at least they had the consolation of ending someone's summer. That might have been sweeter than having Liam Hayes say they were great.

[ross4life]

45 mph winds & frequent showers forecasted for tomorrow i think we'll get a error ridden low scoring game in those conditions. Reading between the lines winning  another Connacht title for Mayo will mean little as they will judge themselves after this game while we'll be satisfied to win our first back to back titles for 20 years.

The long 5 week Connacht final build up for us is almost done so best of luck to fergal & all the players Cmon de Ros.

[RedandGreenSniper]

Good pieces on the Ballagh' situation today in The Irish Times and The Daily Mail. It really is intriguing and worthy of a deeper investigation. There's a really good TV documentary to be done on it if tackled properly. I don't see any links for The Daily Mail. Here's the link for Malachy Clerkin's piece - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/0716/1224300821435.html

[GalwayBayBoy]

Good pieces on the Ballagh' situation today in The Irish Times and The Daily Mail. It really is intriguing and worthy of a deeper investigation. There's a really good TV documentary to be done on it if tackled properly. I don't see any links for The Daily Mail. Here's the link for Malachy Clerkin's piece - http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2011/0716/1224300821435.html

Always thought Ballaghaderreen was right on the border. Didn't realise it was four and half miles inside Roscommon.

[Blowitupref]

Mayo are a established Div 1 team that played in the league final last year & have beaten the likes of Cork,Kerry,Dublin the last few years.

Roscommon no doubt have improved though the level they have been playing at is a lot lower than Mayo's

In terms of individual talent there is little difference between the two however Mayo as a team have better know how & are athletically,technically better.

Bookies are spot on naming Mayo favourites but Roscommon odds should be a longer, i hope i'm wrong as i would love to see the underdog win & see the scenes of colour & excitement displayed by the home side however i feel Mayo to win by 5pts.

[Turlough O Carolan]

It was  good piece but would have benefited from a bit more research. Sean Flanagan was from Aughamore in Mayo. Johno is from Kilmovee in Mayo. John's house in Ballaghaderreen is about 5 miles inside the Roscommon border, not the last house inside the Mayo part of the parish.  Such rubbish. And the new Roscommon club did not just get off the ground. Certain people were instrumental in making sure it never got off the ground by having Mayo, Leitrim (Johno was manager at the time) and Galway vote against it when it went to a Connacht Council vote.