Sligo v Roscommon. June 20th

[larryin89]

Inconsistent?
9 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats and 2 Trophies won so far.
Yes I know the real business only starts now and January and April Cups don't matter a tuppenny damn but I'd settle for a contiunuation of that sort of Inconsistency till August and see what happens then.

Playing within ourselves and winning is progress in itself. Certainly more consistent than previous years.

Aargh would you ever give over with yer absolute manure talk , if ye don't win Connacht or get to at least a semi final through backdoor , ye have failed at senior level once again . park your bus where ye want with your attempts to stir but all that matters is if you can stir anything come castlebar on 19th July . Dicks.

Roscommon will beat Sligo with ease. Roscommon Far too physical for Sligo .

[Shrewdness]

I'm sure most Rossies would settle for a one point victory on Saturday evening.. The people talking shite about scoreboards etc are way off the mark, as well they know themselves.. The combined talents of Kilbride, Cregg, D Shine and D Murtagh managed just 0-1 between them from open play against London.. What worries me about those forwards is their form. Cregg has been very poor in his last 4 games. Based on that, he hardly deserves to start against Sligo, but i expect Evans will pick him. Donie Shine has had a terrible few years with injuries, and is clearly not the player he was..Then there's Senan Kilbride who has had good NFL'S before, only to flop in the championship. A one armed man, minus a couple of fingers, could still count all the  top Championship performances that Kilbride has ever delivered for Roscommon.. Imo, it comes down to this. If the Ros forwards, as a unit, can reproduce the best of their league form, then they should beat Sligo. But, make no mistake. If they are anything under par, then Sligo are definitely good enough to beat them.

[moysider]

I ve seen very little of Sligo post Eamon O Hara.
I was there for the Galway game last year and I thought they were dreadful against a team that was no great shakes itself. They were tactically awful. As bad a kickout strategy - or lack of one - that you could wish to see at this level.
I believe, in fairness, that they improved greatly after in the qualifiers though.

I think Roscommon usually expect to beat Sligo so no matter what is said and done I doubt if Roscommon will bring the same urgency/temper to this that they would to a Mayo or Galway. Sligo seem to prefer to be underdogs.
If Ros are a bit complacent and Sligo bring intensity and resentment it could be an interesting encounter. The championship is due a shock.
From a Mayo perspective, a Ros win would give us a home final. I d usually prefer to see the land of my father win but the usual messing with the final venue would start. 

[Blowitupref]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

[Owenmoresider]

I ve seen very little of Sligo post Eamon O Hara.
I was there for the Galway game last year and I thought they were dreadful against a team that was no great shakes itself. They were tactically awful. As bad a kickout strategy - or lack of one - that you could wish to see at this level.
I believe, in fairness, that they improved greatly after in the qualifiers though.

I think Roscommon usually expect to beat Sligo so no matter what is said and done I doubt if Roscommon will bring the same urgency/temper to this that they would to a Mayo or Galway. Sligo seem to prefer to be underdogs.
If Ros are a bit complacent and Sligo bring intensity and resentment it could be an interesting encounter. The championship is due a shock.
From a Mayo perspective, a Ros win would give us a home final. I d usually prefer to see the land of my father win but the usual messing with the final venue would start.

That's nothing new for us, even when we finally managed to get a change of keeper. His predecessor's idiocy helped cost us one if not two Connacht finals, yet he was one of the untouchables of the Walsh era. Haven't seen much of the team this year but I hope that it's improved, signs are that the team has anyway going on late league form. Will be big underdogs against the Galaticos from across the Curlews but we have turned them over from similar positions in the past, even when we were largely a shambles.

[moysider]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

[magpie seanie]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

100% right about EOH. An absolute legend. He wrote an interesting article in the Sligo Champion this week that I enjoyed about how he dealt with the week coming up to a big game. If/when he writes a book it could be interesting!!!

[sligoman]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

O'Hara only came on as a sub that day when Mayo were beginning to turn the screw after we led for a good chunk of the match. I do agree that he had a great presence about him that inspired his team but he suffered badly with injuries since he got that all star in 2002. It's been an underlying theme ever since the end of Forde's era that Sligo have been getting wiped out at midfield, even in the limited success we had under Walsh and Breheny, it was mainly due to some excellent defensive performances from the likes of Harrison and Donovan and the boys in the full forward line doing the business.

I think you might be a bit disingenuous to the rest of that Sligo team as well, we had other good players back then. Sloyan was a deadly forward who would clock up big scores, Sean Davey and McPartland were outstanding footballers when they were on form, sadly they were both hit and miss players and you never really knew if they would turn it on or not. Overall when I look back at that team there is a sense of regret, I always wondered how we would have done if Taylor had not been shot down in the prime of his career with those injuries which he never recovered from, when he burst onto the scene in the mid 90s he looked a special talent, there was probably more talk about him than O'Hara at the time. It might be bias but I felt he could have been as good as Joyce only for his injuries. We had a big physical team back in those days. Durcan, Quinn, Davey, McPartland, McGuire, Naughton, O'Hara, McGarty, Durkin, McNamara, Langton, Doohan and Clancy were all over 6 feet. We might have 4 lads starting against Roscommon on Saturday who could compare physically with that lot and that's probably pushing it.

[moysider]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

O'Hara only came on as a sub that day when Mayo were beginning to turn the screw after we led for a good chunk of the match. I do agree that he had a great presence about him that inspired his team but he suffered badly with injuries since he got that all star in 2002. It's been an underlying theme ever since the end of Forde's era that Sligo have been getting wiped out at midfield, even in the limited success we had under Walsh and Breheny, it was mainly due to some excellent defensive performances from the likes of Harrison and Donovan and the boys in the full forward line doing the business.

I think you might be a bit disingenuous to the rest of that Sligo team as well, we had other good players back then. Sloyan was a deadly forward who would clock up big scores, Sean Davey and McPartland were outstanding footballers when they were on form, sadly they were both hit and miss players and you never really knew if they would turn it on or not. Overall when I look back at that team there is a sense of regret, I always wondered how we would have done if Taylor had not been shot down in the prime of his career with those injuries which he never recovered from, when he burst onto the scene in the mid 90s he looked a special talent, there was probably more talk about him than O'Hara at the time. It might be bias but I felt he could have been as good as Joyce only for his injuries. We had a big physical team back in those days. Durcan, Quinn, Davey, McPartland, McGuire, Naughton, O'Hara, McGarty, Durkin, McNamara, Langton, Doohan and Clancy were all over 6 feet. We might have 4 lads starting against Roscommon on Saturday who could compare physically with that lot and that's probably pushing it.

Didn t mean to come across as disingenuous about the rest. I'd include Michael Langan in that list as well.

I coached/managed a few of those lads and they were top lads as well as fine footballers.

Agree about Taylor. Great footballer.

[Syferus]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

Oh come on now. O'Hara came on late on in that game and was moving about as well as a bipedal tank. He caught a ball or two (if that) but he seemed more intent on getting in a fight with Aidan O'Shea and Barry Moran than playing football that day. Very dangerous play if I recall correctly. I was there that day because the minors were playing Mayo.

Sligo's very defensive formation and Mayo's array of spectacularly bad shooting is what made that game close, O'Hara's introduction actually marked the period when that match start slipping from Sligo and he didn't do much to change that.

O'Hara was mouthy fûcker - at times he'd have made Frankie or Cake look like shrinking violets - but he was a very good player.

[sligoman]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

O'Hara only came on as a sub that day when Mayo were beginning to turn the screw after we led for a good chunk of the match. I do agree that he had a great presence about him that inspired his team but he suffered badly with injuries since he got that all star in 2002. It's been an underlying theme ever since the end of Forde's era that Sligo have been getting wiped out at midfield, even in the limited success we had under Walsh and Breheny, it was mainly due to some excellent defensive performances from the likes of Harrison and Donovan and the boys in the full forward line doing the business.

I think you might be a bit disingenuous to the rest of that Sligo team as well, we had other good players back then. Sloyan was a deadly forward who would clock up big scores, Sean Davey and McPartland were outstanding footballers when they were on form, sadly they were both hit and miss players and you never really knew if they would turn it on or not. Overall when I look back at that team there is a sense of regret, I always wondered how we would have done if Taylor had not been shot down in the prime of his career with those injuries which he never recovered from, when he burst onto the scene in the mid 90s he looked a special talent, there was probably more talk about him than O'Hara at the time. It might be bias but I felt he could have been as good as Joyce only for his injuries. We had a big physical team back in those days. Durcan, Quinn, Davey, McPartland, McGuire, Naughton, O'Hara, McGarty, Durkin, McNamara, Langton, Doohan and Clancy were all over 6 feet. We might have 4 lads starting against Roscommon on Saturday who could compare physically with that lot and that's probably pushing it.

Didn t mean to come across as disingenuous about the rest. I'd include Michael Langan in that list as well.

I coached/managed a few of those lads and they were top lads as well as fine footballers.

Agree about Taylor. Great footballer.

O'Hara clearly was the beating heart of the team, I never witnessed anything like his performance against Tyrone in 2002 but we also had other good players as well. It was definitely our golden generation of my lifetime, sadly we didn't do enough with it and it was just a shame it coincided with a period with Connacht football was very strong.

I meant Langan instead of Langton! I'm still messing his name up to this day!

[moysider]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

Oh come on now.  came oO'Haran late on in that game on and was moving about as well as a bipedal tank. He caught a ball or two (if that) but he seemed more intent on getting in a fight with Aidan O'Shea and Barry Moran than playing football that day. Very dangerous play if I recall correctly. I was there that day because the minors were playing Mayo.

Sligo's very defensive formation and Mayo's array of spectacularly bad shooting is what made that game close, O'Hara's introduction actually marked the period when that match start slipping from Sligo and he didn't do much to change that.

O'Hara was mouthy fûcker - at times he'd have made Frankie or Cake look like shrinking violets - but he was a very good player.

Before I read the rest I m well aware of that. But there are Mayo folk - I m not one of them - that have never trusted Barry Moran for allowing himself to be 'intimidated' by O Hara and getting sent off. My own take on it is that O Hara was so reckless he could have done himself and others serious injury. But that was the drive that was in him. He did lead by example you ll have to admit?

Now I ll read the rest of your post.

[Syferus]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

Oh come on now.  came oO'Haran late on in that game on and was moving about as well as a bipedal tank. He caught a ball or two (if that) but he seemed more intent on getting in a fight with Aidan O'Shea and Barry Moran than playing football that day. Very dangerous play if I recall correctly. I was there that day because the minors were playing Mayo.

Sligo's very defensive formation and Mayo's array of spectacularly bad shooting is what made that game close, O'Hara's introduction actually marked the period when that match start slipping from Sligo and he didn't do much to change that.

O'Hara was mouthy fûcker - at times he'd have made Frankie or Cake look like shrinking violets - but he was a very good player.

Before I read the rest I m well aware of that. But there are Mayo folk - I m not one of them - that have never trusted Barry Moran for allowing himself to be 'intimidated' by O Hara and getting sent off. My own take on it is that O Hara was so reckless he could have done himself and others serious injury. But that was the drive that was in him. He did lead by example you ll have to admit?

Now I ll read the rest of your post.

I guess but it seems like a terrible example to be leading by. If the only way you think you can win is by going out to do damage to players then you have no business on a football field in my opinion.

[moysider]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

O'Hara only came on as a sub that day when Mayo were beginning to turn the screw after we led for a good chunk of the match. I do agree that he had a great presence about him that inspired his team but he suffered badly with injuries since he got that all star in 2002. It's been an underlying theme ever since the end of Forde's era that Sligo have been getting wiped out at midfield, even in the limited success we had under Walsh and Breheny, it was mainly due to some excellent defensive performances from the likes of Harrison and Donovan and the boys in the full forward line doing the business.

I think you might be a bit disingenuous to the rest of that Sligo team as well, we had other good players back then. Sloyan was a deadly forward who would clock up big scores, Sean Davey and McPartland were outstanding footballers when they were on form, sadly they were both hit and miss players and you never really knew if they would turn it on or not. Overall when I look back at that team there is a sense of regret, I always wondered how we would have done if Taylor had not been shot down in the prime of his career with those injuries which he never recovered from, when he burst onto the scene in the mid 90s he looked a special talent, there was probably more talk about him than O'Hara at the time. It might be bias but I felt he could have been as good as Joyce only for his injuries. We had a big physical team back in those days. Durcan, Quinn, Davey, McPartland, McGuire, Naughton, O'Hara, McGarty, Durkin, McNamara, Langton, Doohan and Clancy were all over 6 feet. We might have 4 lads starting against Roscommon on Saturday who could compare physically with that lot and that's probably pushing it.

Didn t mean to come across as disingenuous about the rest. I'd include Michael Langan in that list as well.

I coached/managed a few of those lads and they were top lads as well as fine footballers.

Agree about Taylor. Great footballer.

O'Hara clearly was the beating heart of the team, I never witnessed anything like his performance against Tyrone in 2002 but we also had other good players as well. It was definitely our golden generation of my lifetime, sadly we didn't do enough with it and it was just a shame :-\I meant Langan instead of Langton! I'm still messing his name up to this day!

It wasn t really. Galway we re in decline (never came to terms that football was reinvented in 02). Mayo were acting the bollicks as only we can and Roscommon were about to enter their pin-up phase. What year was the Connacht final in Castlebar when Cosgrove was left marking Joyce. That was one that was let slip.

[moysider]

This semi final is nicely set up for an upset. home advantage, Sligo underdogs where most of their best championship performances have come from and only last year both were in the same league division. Division one Mayo had to settle for just a two point win against a mid table division three Sligo a few years ago I think something similar will happen here Roscommon by 2 or 3 points I reckon.

O Hara was still there and he could lift a performance out of everybody about him.

As complete a footballer as I ve seen - he had it all and more. He was an unbelievable leader to boot. By then he was almost finished and nothing to prove yet he was driven that day to the point of recklessness.
Talk about raging against the dying of the light.

When Sligo had O Hara they would have feared nobody because he wouldn t tolerate it.

But they have to move on and this is a game that they should be targeting to win.

Oh come on now.  came oO'Haran late on in that game on and was moving about as well as a bipedal tank. He caught a ball or two (if that) but he seemed more intent on getting in a fight with Aidan O'Shea and Barry Moran than playing football that day. Very dangerous play if I recall correctly. I was there that day because the minors were playing Mayo.

Sligo's very defensive formation and Mayo's array of spectacularly bad shooting is what made that game close, O'Hara's introduction actually marked the period when that match start slipping from Sligo and he didn't do much to change that.

O'Hara was mouthy fûcker - at times he'd have made Frankie or Cake look like shrinking violets - but he was a very good player.

Before I read the rest I m well aware of that. But there are Mayo folk - I m not one of them - that have never trusted Barry Moran for allowing himself to be 'intimidated' by O Hara and getting sent off. My own take on it is that O Hara was so reckless he could have done himself and others serious injury. But that was the drive that was in him. He did lead by example you ll have to admit?

Now I ll read the rest of your post.

I guess but it seems like a terrible example to be leading by. If the only way you think you can win is by going out to do damage to players then you have no business on a football field in my opinion.

He was way fired up and the referee didn t deal with him. As well as just welting in to Moran dangerously in the air he ended up bloodied himself. When Moran got annoyed he got the line and it looked like a triumph for O Hara. As I said already there are Mayo supporters that don t rate Moran since because they reckon he was bossed by O Hara. You could argue that he was just assaulted and the ref turned the blind eye to a legend. Whatever about his motivation and action on the day there is no doubting his fearlessness.