ROSCOMMON v GALWAY, CONNACHT SFC

[moysider]

Great analysis from Ross Matt there. Always a joy to read a man who knows his beans. I hope to be as lucky with my paper tomorrow, but I'm not hopeful.

Shocking day for Roscommon, great day for Galway. Galway are like Down - one win can lift them like no other counties. They really don't do doubt once they've got their kick-start.

Other fellas have mentioned Newton's attitude here. If I were from Roscommon, I'd be quite worried about it. It's a long wait 'til the qualifiers. They're still something there to play for but if Newton's ok with lads running up the white flag today, well, it's not a good sign. It's odd to see a Roscommon team with so little bite. Very odd.

Galway raging hot favorites for Connacht now, of course. Red hot. You'd light your Woodbine off them, they're that hot.

They re not. We ll not yet anyway.

Today s match wasn t even related to a serious championship game. Every Div. I game I attended/saw this year was light years ahead of this tecnically/ tactically/intensity. The Mayo v Donegal challenge in Swinford had more intensity. Nobody had a glove left on them today. It was unreal. The sheepish look on the Galway interviews after said it all. Galway know better than anybody that it s too early to look hot. Especially when the opposition just didn t show up.

Sligo lads can speak for themselves but if we get to play Galway there ll be some intensity and even in Salthill we ll have a chance.

As regards the Newton thing. A couple of alarm bells rang today with me today. One thing that I commented about already but I was gobsmacked when Martin Carney remarked that Newton was observing the match from the stand. That was before half-time and the team already long in freefall.

Not good enough. A young team without hardly a leader on the field ( Cregg was magnificent in adversity and can hold his head high and showed leadership) needs better than that - a presence on the line. A bit of roaring was in order. Newton showed little responsibility/leadership. He came across detatched in interviews, but to observe from a distance is even more worrying.

[ross4life]

I can't let the night go with looking at Cosmo's posts in more detail.

So much bluster from Roscommon fans here and elsewhere in the last month or two. For this team?!

Yeah in other games we played like today 

They haven't moved on from their 09 beating in Castlebar at all.

So you just judge us on today? Our displays v Sligo,Mayo,Tyrone etc showed we had moved on from Castlebar

The 'best forwards in Connacht' are hopelessly slow and immobile.

Hmm hopeless & immobile? most big forwards are slow so your probably right.

A horrible day levelled the playing field in last years Connacht Final and kept the score respectable

Nonsense.The weather was the same for both sides have you forgot Mayo beat Galway by 6 in similar conditions?

a fluke Connacht title the year before gave an inaccurate view of their standing.

We beat what was put in front of us were underdogs v Sligo & got a deserved win.

They are a mid table Division 3 team for a reason.

Did you take that quote from Pat Spillane

Galway on the other hand are boiling nicely. They'll fancy their chances for Connacht from here, and have every reason to.

remains to be seen. I was in Salthill in 2007 when they hammered Mayo but they couldn't reach that level again & was beaten by Sligo in Connacht final.

You can't brush off a 15 point beating as a bad day at the office. Every team has bad days but if your bad days result in beatings like this then you'd have to conclude that you wouldn't be good enough on your good days either.

Will take a while to brush it off but even Kerry,Dublin have recovered for heavy defeats. We have senior,U-21,minor Connacht winners,All Ireland winners,a few with sigerson cup medals plus players from the best club side in Connacht. We are better than what we showed today.

FOD was clearly getting the maximum possible out of this team. He knew it too and walked away

Wrong. Fergal has a young family & was unable to give his full commitment & the door is left open for him to return.

an AI runner up set of 21s won't turn that mess around on their own.

Some great words of wisdom there.

----------------------------------

Have nothing against constructive criticism (gave some myself) but your posts was nothing more than another dig at us.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Any time you come away from the Hyde with a 14 point win you have to be happy with the day's work. Beforehand I thought there would be no more than 1 or 2 points between the teams by the end and that Roscommon could easily come away with the win. No idea why Roscommon didn't play up to their capability but regardless Galway still had a game to win and in fairness they went for the Roscommon jugular straight from throw-in. Galway were crisp and clinicial and after 20 minutes Roscommon were left with a mountain to climb. Rossies mounted a bit of resistance the 10 minutes either side of half-time but Galway managed to hold them at arm's length for the remainder of the game and PJ and Meehan coming on with 20 minutes left gave them a major boost. Both of them looked fit and sharp. Meehan especially suprised me as he's had so little football played over the past 2 years. Really hope his ankle holds up.

Galway full-back like marshalled Kilbride and Shine well despite there being a fair bit of height disadvantage. The two debutants at corner-back acquited themselves very well and Hanley was solid. Bradshaw was excellent again and tormented the Rossie defence with his surging runs forward. Thought Johnny Duane was good at centre-back. Got outpaced by Cregg a couple of times just before the break but got on top again afterwards. Cregg is quick so you can forgive him that. Overall he is very tigerish in his play. Joe Bergin probably had his best game for Galway in years. He was catching high-balls, distributing well and even got forward to kick 2 points. Greg Higgins did more of the unspectacular donkey work beside him but was also quietly effective. Obviously Finneran going off injured helped them get a grip around the middle.

On paper the Galway half-forward line doesn't look like it will score much but they put in an enormous amount of work and in the last two games Galway have hit 0-18 against Kildare and 3-15 today so the lack of scoring from that department (Gary Sice apart) doesn't seem to be an issue. For now anyway. Flynn will eventually end up in midfield alright and Damien Burke has made a good fist of moving from corner-back to centre-forward. It's not a completely alien position for him though as he has played there for Corofin quite a bit.

Paul Conroy has been a revelation since being moved to full-forward. He's big, has good hands and can kick off either foot and he's obviously playing with a lot of confidence under Mulholland at the moment. The Roscommon defence just couldn't handle him today. In fact I was shocked as I think his marker was left on him for the whole game. Having a target man like that means the corner-forwards can play off him. Armstrong was a mixed bag but he's not long back from injury so you hope he'll improve with gametime. Not really sure that Hehir is a corner-forward but you can tell that he is a clever footballer. His movement is very good and he makes intelligent runs. With experience I think he will eventually move into the half-forward line somewhere. The bould Nicky would be ideal for the corner playing off Conroy but that ship looks to have sailed now.

Great win but I don't think Mulholland will be letting them get carried away. Roscommon just never got going today. Galway won't have it as easy even at home in Salthill against Sligo. Best of luck to Roscommon for the remainder of the Summer.

[Syferus]

Firstly, congratulations to Galway, they were up for the match and did everything asked of them. Conroy particularly was fantastic, definite man-of-the-match material. Meehan looked sharp when he came on but in all reality it was all over by then and he didn't have to cope with championship intensity. I would love to see the lad back, he's one of the finest talents in the country on his day and he seems a great fella.

The problems started in the middle for us, and we could blame it on Finneran's aggravation of an injury he suffered in a challenge game a few weeks back but in all honesty the middle wasn't working in the league when he was fit. Too much pressure on the backs, basic errors compounding the damage. We just looked completely off-key out there, with only Cregg and the two McDermotts showing anything close to proper form over the 70 minutes. When it was a winnable game for us, at home no less, it was always going to be hard to stomach the manner of this loss.

It was only one match, though. A bad one for us, most definitely. But even a win wouldn't have set us forward that much and the manner of the defeat should make the team angry rather than depressed. Galway were made to look like All-Ireland champions by us - I didn't say I didn't rate them, but that we were very capable of beating them. I still think we are. It's not like that Galway team turned into All-Stars over the course of the 70 minutes and we lost all our ability - they won't get it as easy in any other game this year and would be wise to read very little into today's scoreline.

We've a team that has plenty of talent and the worst thing you could do is throw the pram over a cliff because we had a bad performance. Another bite at the apple at the end of June with all the u21s having plenty of time to and settle in and compete. It's essentially another championship for us.

Plenty of reasons to think even the immediate future is going to be a hell of alot brighter than today, there's absolutely no place for recriminations in the middle of the championship.

Heroes when they win, abused when they have a bad day. No thanks. The players and the management do more for and give more to the county than any of us and if we can't stick with them through the lean days how could we ever label ourselves supporters in the first place?

Treat them like your club-mates after a defeat, don't treat them like they're some elite group deserving of contempt - they're our lads and they will always be our lads.

I just hope Galway found their bus driver.

[INDIANA]

i think its complete rubbish to say a win wouldnt have put you further ahead of a loss.

That was an absolutely diabolical display by Roscommon. One of the worst I've seen in  a long time.

Team had no idea what it was doing. Dont fall into the trap thinking your 21's will dig you out of a hole.

Roscommon have definitely gone backwards. Always thought it strange O Donnell quit when he did. Maybe he just felt they hadnt enough to get to the next level.

[seafoid]

Great analysis from Ross Matt there. Always a joy to read a man who knows his beans. I hope to be as lucky with my paper tomorrow, but I'm not hopeful.

Shocking day for Roscommon, great day for Galway. Galway are like Down - one win can lift them like no other counties. They really don't do doubt once they've got their kick-start.

Other fellas have mentioned Newton's attitude here. If I were from Roscommon, I'd be quite worried about it. It's a long wait 'til the qualifiers. They're still something there to play for but if Newton's ok with lads running up the white flag today, well, it's not a good sign. It's odd to see a Roscommon team with so little bite. Very odd.

Galway raging hot favorites for Connacht now, of course. Red hot. You'd light your Woodbine off them, they're that hot.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1860605

[moysider]

Great analysis from Ross Matt there. Always a joy to read a man who knows his beans. I hope to be as lucky with my paper tomorrow, but I'm not hopeful.

Shocking day for Roscommon, great day for Galway. Galway are like Down - one win can lift them like no other counties. They really don't do doubt once they've got their kick-start.

Other fellas have mentioned Newton's attitude here. If I were from Roscommon, I'd be quite worried about it. It's a long wait 'til the qualifiers. They're still something there to play for but if Newton's ok with lads running up the white flag today, well, it's not a good sign. It's odd to see a Roscommon team with so little bite. Very odd.

Galway raging hot favorites for Connacht now, of course. Red hot. You'd light your Woodbine off them, they're that hot.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1860605

[seafoid]

Connacht has been very open for the last few years with no team on top. Last year Sligo were shite. This year Ros are shite. Mayo were shite in 2010
http://www.con-telegraph.ie/sport/gaelic/767-longford-easy-meat-for-mayo
and Galway were shite 2009-2011.

[Lar Naparka]

Great analysis from Ross Matt there. Always a joy to read a man who knows his beans. I hope to be as lucky with my paper tomorrow, but I'm not hopeful.

Shocking day for Roscommon, great day for Galway. Galway are like Down - one win can lift them like no other counties. They really don't do doubt once they've got their kick-start.

Other fellas have mentioned Newton's attitude here. If I were from Roscommon, I'd be quite worried about it. It's a long wait 'til the qualifiers. They're still something there to play for but if Newton's ok with lads running up the white flag today, well, it's not a good sign. It's odd to see a Roscommon team with so little bite. Very odd.

Galway raging hot favorites for Connacht now, of course. Red hot. You'd light your Woodbine off them, they're that hot.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1860605

Nice one, seafoid.

[Rossfan]

It'll be interesting to see the level of improvement in Roscommon from the league

That is what it will all hinge on I believe.
If not much then Galway to win and radical overhaul of the Ros team for the First Round qualifier.

There wasnt any improvement and we got bet out the gate after an embarrassing shambolic perfromance.
We played slow oul Division 3 NFL football against a Galway side playing Championship football.
We had no plan A never mind a plan B other than let Galway have the ball while we all ran back and loitered with no purpose around our own 45.
Meanwhile Galway kicked the ball in over the heads of the mass of loiterers and our FBL couldnt cope at all.
As for our attack plan -- God help us why did Donie and Senan spend the day standing on top of each other around the Penalty mark? The few times we did hit a ball in to the corners the 2 lads had to shuffle out slowly to collect it. Could they not have been half way there before it was kicked.?
We never had anyone on the wings in attack so defenders had no one to aim clearances at.
A lot of criticism of Newton on Stolensheep and it was noticeable he was on his own on the sideline in the 2nd half yesterday as the rest of the backroom sat on the bench like as if the were ignoring him.
Management's role in my view is to have the players mentally and physically ready for Championship football.
Our lads didnt look that yesterday.
I can't see a lot of enthusiam in lads for Qualifiers after that and suspect the US could have a large contingent of Ros lads this Summer.

[Syferus]

i think its complete rubbish to say a win wouldnt have put you further ahead of a loss.

That was an absolutely diabolical display by Roscommon. One of the worst I've seen in  a long time.

Team had no idea what it was doing. Dont fall into the trap thinking your 21's will dig you out of a hole.

Roscommon have definitely gone backwards. Always thought it strange O Donnell quit when he did. Maybe he just felt they hadnt enough to get to the next level.

You need better glasses.

[moysider]

It'll be interesting to see the level of improvement in Roscommon from the league

That is what it will all hinge on I believe.
If not much then Galway to win and radical overhaul of the Ros team for the First Round qualifier.

There wasnt any improvement and we got bet out the gate after an embarrassing shambolic perfromance.
We played slow oul Division 3 NFL football against a Galway side playing Championship football.
We had no plan A never mind a plan B other than let Galway have the ball while we all ran back and loitered with no purpose around our own 45.
Meanwhile Galway kicked the ball in over the heads of the mass of loiterers and our FBL couldnt cope at all.
As for our attack plan -- God help us why did Donie and Senan spend the day standing on top of each other around the Penalty mark? The few times we did hit a ball in to the corners the 2 lads had to shuffle out slowly to collect it. Could they not have been half way there before it was kicked.?
We never had anyone on the wings in attack so defenders had no one to aim clearances at.
A lot of criticism of Newton on Stolensheep and it was noticeable he was on his own on the sideline in the 2nd half yesterday as the rest of the backroom sat on the bench like as if the were ignoring him.
Management's role in my view is to have the players mentally and physically ready for Championship football.
Our lads didnt look that yesterday.
I can't see a lot of enthusiam in lads for Qualifiers after that and suspect the US could have a large contingent of Ros lads this Summer.

Sounds like ye re in trouble Rossfan. Yesterday reminded me a bit of Mayo v Galway 07. Dev and Boyle out of position. 2 soft early goals given away. Some people wrote off as a blip but the rot was allowed to continue for another 3 championships until Longford put an end to it in 2010.

[Rossfan]

Sounds like ye re in trouble Rossfan. Yesterday reminded me a bit of Mayo v Galway 07. Dev and Boyle out of position. 2 soft early goals given away. Some people wrote off as a blip but the rot was allowed to continue for another 3 championships until Longford put an end to it in 2010.

That is one fear that's there alright.
Still I expect manager and players will have to be given a chance to redeem themselves ...but with only one midfielder , loose light defenders and slow lazy full forwards... the outlook isnt great.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Media reports on the game

KEITH DUGGAN at Dr Hyde Park

CONNACHT SFC FIRST ROUND: Galway 3-15 Roscommon 0-10: IN the 33rd minute of this match, Joe Bergin didn't so much catch as wolf a ball down from the sky to set in motion another Galway attack. The sight must have had Galway football people licking their chops.

The big Mountbellew man has made plenty of spectacular catches in his decade of service to the maroon cause, but he has rarely been as intense and central to the Galway game plan as he was here in Hyde Park.

It says something that on a day when Galway Paul Conroy gave a revelatory performance at full-forward and Gareth Bradshaw maintained the excellent form he has demonstrated all league that Bergin was still probably the pick of the bunch.

Alan Mulholland's could not have designed a more perfect championship debut than the way it panned out here. Suffice to say it was the biggest win Galway have ever posted in Roscommon town.

The afternoon even felt vaguely summery and if the choc-ices weren't enough, the visitors were treated to the sight of Messrs Meehan and Joyce entering the theatre to resume the most tantalising double act in Gaelic games. Meehan has been a beacon for all that is good in Galway football for so long it is hard to credit he is only yet 27.

He has had a nightmarish couple of years with his ankle injury, and his first act on the field was to follow Sean McDermott on a three-quarter length sprint as the Roscommon corner back sought clarification that Meehan's ankle was, in fact, up to the job.

He played an excellent 20 minutes, albeit in undemanding circumstances, and his rehabilitation towards full fitness is an ongoing project.

The decision to cast Paul Conroy as a traditional full forward during the league paid dividends here. The St James's man advertised his mindset with a smart turn-and-shoot point in the 10th minute and proceeded to cause terror among the Roscommon rearguard thereafter.

His lay-off to Mark Hehir for Galway's first goal came about when the home team were in disarray: a moment of distraction appeared to afflict the team after Michael Finneran departed with an injury, and when Conroy took possession, he looked up to see his team-mate blazing a trail to the Roscommon goal with no primrose shirt in pursuit.

That score seemed to shake Roscommon and Galway reeled off four smooth points, with a sublime pick-up and flick by Conroy for Sice the highlight of that spell. The contest was effectively ended in the 23rd minute. Johnny Duane, looking tidy and comfortable at centre back, plucked a ball from the sky and, after taking a return pass from Kieran McGrath, lobbed a perfectly weighted ball downfield for his full forward.

Conroy dominated the tussle for possession and had goal on his mind before his feet hit the turf. His finish was low and decisive. Trailing by 2-6 to 0-3, Roscommon's day was in tatters.

Their first two points, brilliant efforts from Senan Kilbride and Karol Mannion in the 4th and 5th minutes, seemed to suggest that Roscommon confidence was high and that they were in the mood to make life awkward for their neighbours. But they had no answer to a blistering period of maroon dominance.

Encouraging spells either side of half-time gave the home support in the crowd of 12,962 something to shout about, but it was a brief rebellion. Cathal Cregg was bright and menacing every time he got the ball and he set Donal Shine up for Roscommon's best goal chance in the 33rd minute.

Shine has been the talisman for the recent revival in Primrose football but he had an underwhelming day here, struggling to get much change out of Keith Kelly and also in his place-kicking duties.

However, he did put David O'Gara through in the 38th minute and had the substitute goaled – his shot blazed over the crossbar – Roscommon might have engineered some sort of revival.

Instead, Conroy thumped another fine point into the graveyard goal and Galway were back in business. Meehan clearly enjoyed his return, firing two points and collecting a long ball from Joyce and tap-dancing through the Roscommon defence before flicking a pass from Sice to goal from close range.

By then, all of the anticipated championship intensity had left Hyde Park and suddenly the heady days of Roscommon's provincial title coup of two years ago seemed very far away. It might have gotten worse too as Danny Cummins, loitering around the Roscommon square, palmed a ball against the crossbar only to have it rebound off him and fly inches wide.

The whistle must have come as a relief for Roscommon, who face a long wait after this dispiriting exit. Galway have just under weeks for a Saturday fixture in Salthill which will see Mulholland and Kevin Walsh, minor and senior team-mates from a fair few moons ago, patrolling the sidelines.

GALWAY : A Faherty; K McGrath (0-1); F Hanley; K Kelly; G Bradshaw (0-2); J Duane; G O'Donnell; J Bergin (0-2); G Higgins; G Sice (1-3, 0-2 frees); D Burke; T Flynn; S Armstrong (0-1); P Conroy (1-4); M Hehir (1-0). Subs: M Meehan (0-2, 0-1 free) for S Armstrong (45 mins); Pádraic Joyce for D Burke (51 mins); T Fahy for G O'Donnell (54 mins); D Cummins for M Hehir (65 mins). Yellow cards: Burke (28 mins); Hehir (36 mins); Bradshaw (55 mins).

ROSCOMMON: G Claffey; S McDermott; N Carty; S Purcell; C Dineen; P Domican; I Kilbride; M Finneran; K Mannion (0-1); D Keenan; C Cregg (0-1); J Rogers; S Kilbride (0-3, 0-2 frees); D McDermott; D Shine (0-2, frees). Subs: N Daly for M Finneran (inj: 11 mins); D O'Gara (0-2) for J Rogers (23 mins); G Heneghan (0-1) for D Keenan (47 mins); K Higgins for D McDermott (57 mins); C Shine for I Kilbride (65 mins). Yellow card: I Kilbride (53 mins).

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).

'IT IS FANTASTIC TO PLAY LIKE THAT'

POST-MATCH TALK: THERE was little for Alan Mulholland to say after this comprehensive win other than he was justifiably pleased with the days work, writes Keith Duggan. "It went according to plan," he acknowledged.

" The first 20 minutes gave us a platform to see how the game [was going]. Bit worrying in the middle third of the game when they came back into it and we looked a bit ropey.

"But we were able to bring PJ and Michael Meehan in and that calmed us down a bit."

Given it is several years since Galway has enjoyed a good day in the championship, was it going to be difficult to keep their feet on the ground?

"No. We will get totally carried away now. No, we know that Kevin is waiting in the wings with Sligo. Kevin knows Galway football better than I do, probably, so it is going to be hell for leather. But we will draw confidence from that.

"We are not going to pretend we didn't play well. It is fantastic to play like that and we hope we can play better and build on it."

After reappearing from the back of the dressingroom where the television interviews were being conducted, Des Newton stopped to give his thoughts on a rough afternoon for Roscommon.

"If you are not achieving parity in the middle of the field and not showing the required desire in every other area of the field, we have to look at ourselves and say we were wanting in those areas. But I am not going to do any fellow in that dressingroom down because they have all given me hugely in the past six months in everything I have asked for.

"We finished the first half well and started the second half but when you don't get the few scores on the board to bring you back within striking distance the heads tend to drop.

"Losing Michael Finneran wasn't an excuse in the overall scheme of the game but it did have an effect in the following 10 minutes when Galway put 2-3 on the board and opened a gap that was too big for us to close. But we know we are better than we looked out there today."

Galway hammer limp Rossies

In the build-up to this Connacht quarter-final at Hyde Park, the giant screen that is to become a feature at most big provincial fixtures this summer showed a montage of clips from clashes over the last decade between Galway and Roscommon.

Each clip told a familiar tale with Galway inevitably having it all their own way.

If the Roscommon players were trying to erase recent history between these counties from their minds as they finalised preparations, the sound just outside their dressing room was a stark reminder of how it had been.

By 5.40, the montage had been added to without any need to alter the script. This was as it almost always has been in recent times with Galway delivering a seventh championship victory in nine meetings (one draw in 1998) over the home side since 1990.

For the record, it was Galway's biggest ever victory over Roscommon in Hyde Park and their biggest ever score against Roscommon in a championship match anywhere. Not bad for a team with two midfielders and two half-backs among their front six!

perception

That was the perception that allowed the belief to develop in the days before this game that Roscommon could avert the course of recent history here.

With Michael Meehan and Padraic Joyce on the bench and Nicky Joyce off the squad, could Galway really amass a winning score in a championship match of this nature with this attack?

The answer was emphatic, with Paul Conroy leading the charge. Conroy has had a weight of expectation thrust onto his young shoulders for a few years now, courtesy of his role in Galway's 2007 All-Ireland minor success.

But yesterday was the day that he really delivered, hitting 1-4 in a display that incorporated great fielding, clever lay-offs and assured finishing off either boot that had you wondering which foot is actually his strongest.

Around him a Galway attack can evolve and flourish in the coming years. That Roscommon allowed Conroy to go unchecked for so long with Niall Carthy, only back from injury, trailing in his wake was symptomatic of how they just weren't up to speed with this game at any level.

Roscommon's paucity won't be a concern for Galway.

This was by far their most complete championship performance since 2008 and after some hairy moments during the league it was a firm stamp of approval for Alan Mulholland's calm and measured approach to overhauling the team and rebuilding this confidence.

He won't be wiping Galway from his own bookmaking boards for Connacht success just yet but this was a huge step in the right direction for a team that has underperformed so badly in the last three seasons.

Joe Bergin hasn't had many days like it as a midfielder in a maroon shirt while Gareth Bradshaw and Gary Sice once again controlled the right flank with perfect harmony. As a No 5-10 combination, Tomas O Se and Paul Galvin are out on their own but Bradshaw and Sice may be close to next best.

Bradshaw pushed forward for two early points while Sice picked off Galway's third goal on 63 minutes, which triggered a mass departure from the home fans among the 12,962 crowd.

The build-up to that Sice goal involved two names that will further fuel the enthusiasm around this Galway team that is sure to follow.

It was Padraic Joyce's delivery across the Roscommon goalmouth and Meehan's catch on the endline and patient play that created the opportunity for Sice.

Meehan had come off the bench on 46 minutes for his first action with Galway since last year's championship defeat to Meath -- and he quickly pointed a free -- while Joyce was into the action five minutes later and instantly teed up Meehan for a point from play.

They may not play full matches for Galway in the months ahead but Roscommon were quickly resigned to their fate when they arrived.

As much as Mulholland will continue to build a team around the impressive Johnny Duane at centre-back and Thomas Flynn, Mark Hehir and Conroy in attack, the impact of Meehan and Joyce will also be vital.

Galway took the direct route to feed Conroy and it paid off handsomely for the second goal on 21 minutes when he gathered Duane's 40-metre delivery, made space for himself and finished with some style.

Earlier he had set up Hehir for the first goal after John Rogers had spilled possession on 11 minutes to wipe out Roscommon's good early work.

By the break they were 2-8 to 0-6 clear with limited signs of any Roscommon response.

Roscommon were wholly disorganised and so dispirited. Less than 12 months ago, they lost their Connacht title by just two points to opponents that ended the reign of the All-Ireland champions a couple of weeks later.

How can they keep that company for two seasons and then produce this on the opening day of the 2012 championship?

Clearly, Fergal O'Donnell's organisational skills and knowledge of the players are a greater loss than anyone could have imagined.

No one could have thought that Roscommon would return to Castlebar 2009 so quickly again but they have. When it goes wrong for them it tends to go horribly wrong.

Only Cathal Cregg, when he ran at Galway defenders in the second quarter, and David O'Gara, when he came on for a misfiring John Rogers, emerged with credit on their side.

Donie Shine was a big disappointment, scoring just two points from frees from nine shots at goal.

His movement was laboured and the Galway full-back line, containing championship debutants Kieran McGrath and Keith Kelly, were much too alert and mobile around him.

The departure of towering midfielder Michael Finneran after just 10 minutes with an ankle injury allowed Galway's Joe Bergin an armchair ride for the remaining 60 minutes but enters as only a small part of the defence.

Picking up from such a demoralising defeat will be extremely difficult in the six weeks they now have until the first round of qualifiers.

Scorers -- Galway: P Conroy 1-4, G Sice 1-3 (2f), M Hehir 1-0, J Bergin, G Bradshaw, M Meehan (1f) 0-2 each, S Armstrong, K McGrath 0-1 each. Roscommon: S Kilbride 0-3 (2f), D O'Gara , D Shine (2f) 0-2 each, C Cregg, K Mannion, G Heneghan 0-1 each.

Galway -- A Faherty 7; K McGrath 7, F Hanley 8, K Kelly 7; G Bradshaw 8, J Duane 8, G O'Donnell 6; J Bergin 8, G Higgins 6; G Sice 7, D Burke 6, T Flynn 6; S Armstrong 6, P Conroy 9, M Hehir 7. Subs: M Meehan 7 for Armstrong (46), P Joyce 6 for Burke (51), T Fahy 7 for O'Donnell (53), D Cummins for Hehir (63), M Boyle (66) for Sice (66).

Roscommon -- G Claffey 6; S McDermott 6, N Carthy 5, S Purcell 5; C Dineen 5, P Domican 6, I Kilbride 5; M Finneran, K Mannion 6; D Keenan 5, C Cregg 7, J Rogers 5;S Kilbride 6, D McDermott 5, D Shine 5. Subs: N Daly for Finneran (10 inj), D O'Gara 7 for Rogers (23), G Heneghan 6 for Keenan (47), K Higgins for McDermott (53), C Shine for I Kilbride (63).

Ref -- J McQuillan (Cavan)

- Colm Keys

Irish Independent

[emmetryan]

Hi guys,

I've put together a tactical analysis piece of this game for anyone interested
http://action81.com/blog/?p=5797

Emmet