Roscommon v Monaghan - NFL D1 (31/01/16)

[From the Bunker]

D. Murtagh fully fit and will start tomorrow. Big day for us Rossies, would be great to start with a win, Down very poor tonight and look sure to be relegated,so one more to go.
Come on the Rossies.

D Murtagh hardly fully fit when he couldn't play for his college side on Wednesday night.

As was said, that was more to do with giving him a chance to play Sunday than him being too injured to play at all. Diarmuid has suffered from lack of common sense by his coaches in past years, thankfully this year McStay, Dowd and maybe even Ciaran Kilkenny have shown some sense in how they use rather than abuse an important player. He hasn't (rightly) played for the U21s this season either.

College ball is fun but playing for your county will always be the real stuff.

D Murtagh didn't play today did he?

No one that was injured was played. Makes a change.

Playing players who are injured is silly beggars this time of year. This time of year is about looking at players, developing systems and doing enough to maintain confidence. Injured players should be minded and rested for bigger days.

[seafoid]

Definitely 2 points thrown away by Ros today. A game that could and should have won.....But there is much to be positive about . Apparently, Monaghan started with 12 of the team that won last summer's Ulster Final.. Ros on the other hand, had to field without so many key players. Cathal Shine and Ultan Harney, whilst both coming on, have fitness issues. Absent players included Niall Carty, Conor Daly, Kevin Higgins, Donie Smith, Donie Shine and the biggest loss of all, Diarmuid Murtagh.....Don't want to sound defeatist, but it's very hard to see us staying up now. We needed those 2 points today to have any chance. Well done Monaghan as well.

don't be so negative. 2 points guaranteed against Down. Mayo maybe. Kerry maybe.  Monaghan are a very ,very good side.

[straightred]

just watched a recording of it. Over the whole game monaghan had that bit more experience to get over the line and of course its handy to have mcmanus (although he had a really bad miss from a free in the 1st half). Div 1 is tough.

[Ringfort]

I thought Monaghan deserved the win. Considering it was one of those games where it was all about what you did with the big wind at your back they definitely used it far better than us and kicked 2-8 with it to our 1-5. As soon as Monaghan got the first goal early in the second half I felt we were going to struggle to hold on for the win. They really squeezed us very well on the kick outs. Fair play to them. A hardened outfit and winning two Ulsters out of three is no joke. Finding themselves seven points down there was no sense of panic. For us Rossies while it was positive to put it up to top opposition we need to get a few wins some way instead. I find it hard to see where the wins will come from on this bleak wintry night but feck it I expect us to give it a right rattle and surely we will learn a bit along the way.

[Rossfan]

The wind was a factor but Monaghan made their own very heavy weather in the 2nd half. Neither team deserved to win and probably the difference was that brilliant bit of skill by McManus to steal the clinching goal. I thought Ryan Wylie  deserved a yellow not a black. as his foul was just ordinary foul to concede the penalty, but generally  the ref did well. Drew Wylie was a stand-out I thought, a skillful defender doing his job well. The high pressing in the 2nd half on the Rosssie' kickouts were the real clincher, the Rossies struggled most every time to get the ball out. We are still plagued with ponderous approach, 2 or 3 passes too many, allowing the opposition to get everybody back and in place.

In fairness it was Darren O's errant kickout rather than skill by McManus that was the cause of the goal. Gutting to kick the ball directly to the best forward the opposition have with a game level in injury time. Will just have to learn from these experiences.

The ball was kicked to Collins' hands but he fumbled or juggled the bloody thing.
Gutting to lose it so late on and to such a stupid giveaway but we were second best through most of the second half.
Didn't score near enough with the wind losing our way after a bright first ten mins. Some awful stupid balls kicked in too. Mind you if Cregger and Senan could have actually hheldthe balls they got it would have helped .
And can someone tell Ends Smith that football is a TEAM game. He mightbe able to plough through U21s and college boys but not 4 hard sseasoned 1st Div Ulster defenders.
Fintan Cregg had some game for us and young McInerney certainly has improved our defence.
We battled hard against a top 6 team and hopefully the experience will have improved our lads.
While I'm still grumpy -2 more gripes - making people park in a fcukn field after the wettest winter going - some right wheel spinning going on and 45 minutes to get out.
The the feckin team bus driving up the N61 at 60 bloody kph.....

Ah sure isn't it great to be in D 1
PS How did the Rhus do?

[Syferus]

Great to see Fintan Cregg stepping up on the big stage. Such an enigma, key underage player, the fulcrum for Elphin in their glory hunting years and still never showed his best at senior IC. It would be great to see him do a Colm Boyle and take properly to the senior grade in his mid-20s. Looked short of confidence the last time he was seen in primrose, now he looks full of belief. The 2006 minors have given some service to senior county, just as Higgins and Shine and Carty pick up injuries along come Cregg and Devanney back in the fold.

I wonder what Evans' knock was against Niall Kilroy? Size I guess? Was a flier for Newton as a very young player but never got a look in under Evans and now John is gone he's starting big matches for us immediately.

And quick note on the program. A proper program for a change with some interesting features for both sides. Mighty stuff, better than nearly all championship ones I've seen. Totally biased but the new PRO is doing a good job so far. Didn't know Senan and the Brigids club carried Gerry O'Malley's coffin to Cam Cementary. What a beautiful touch. Hopefully the man himself wasn't too disappointed today.

[Ringfort]

Yeah, Enda Smith carrying the ball into the tackle does my head in. Takes way, way too much out of it and is turned over with infuriating regularity. I know he's only playing in the midfield to cover injuries but it's absolutely not his best position. I'd sooner see him in at either 14 or on the wing.

[babarino]

Good game in bad conditions with both sides really going for the win.

Very frustrating to see so many lateral passes with the wind advantage in the 2nd half, but thought we looked fitter in the last quarter and were on course to register the win.

Darren Hughes, far from his best game for Monaghan, gave a poor pass and Roscommon took advantage to go ahead. Finally some quick passing forward to Malone to equalise in response and then experience told from there.

McAdam's first yellow was very harsh. Malone, Drew Wylie and Kerr were best for Monaghan and McKenna gave a very assured display when he came on. He definitely deserves to start against Down.

[Mclf]

Weekend results went as expected,although I thought Mayo wouldn't lose as bad and that Roscommon would get more of a beating, nothing changes though, Down and Roscommon to be the whipping boys and Mayo only surviving because them two teams are so poor and so far out of their depth.

64 k question about next weekend is who will get the biggest tanking? Mayo or Roscommon?

[seafoid]

Great to see Fintan Cregg stepping up on the big stage. Such an enigma, key underage player, the fulcrum for Elphin in their glory hunting years and still never showed his best at senior IC. It would be great to see him do a Colm Boyle and take properly to the senior grade in his mid-20s. Looked short of confidence the last time he was seen in primrose, now he looks full of belief.

And quick note on the program. A proper program for a change with some interesting features for both sides. Mighty stuff, better than nearly all championship ones I've seen. Totally biased but the new PRO is doing a good job so far. Didn't know Senan and the Brigids club carried Gerry O'Malley's coffin to Cam Cementary. What a beautiful touch. Hopefully the man himself wasn't too disappointed today.

I was thinking of Dermot Earley tuning today for the first match in D1

[Main Street]

I was reading Keith Duggan's excellent report of the game
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/monaghan-show-grit-to-hit-roscommon-late-in-kiltoom-1.2517172

I got the sense that they (pundits/scribes) made too much of Monaghan being so controlled in the 2nd half, gaining a vice like grip on the game, not panicking as they slowly but deliberately reeled in the Rossies. That's a hindsight opinion.

From my (TG4) point of view in the 2nd half, once Malone struck the goal early in the 2nd half, Monaghan made tortuous , snail's pace  progress on the scoreboard, I wouldn't have minded a bit of panic.
It  took an eternity for Monaghan to equalise  and  I thought once the  Rossies went up the pitch and scored just after, at best Monaghan could get a draw, considering their prowess on the day.
But two things happened,  a mistake and McManus. And Monaghan grabbed the victory.
But post game,  the 20/20 vision  punditry is about Monaghan's controlled patience and confidence winning out in the end as if we knowledgeable folks all knew that it would transpire this way.

[Syferus]

I was reading Keith Duggan's excellent report of the game
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/monaghan-show-grit-to-hit-roscommon-late-in-kiltoom-1.2517172

I got the sense that they (pundits/scribes) made too much of Monaghan being so controlled in the 2nd half, gaining a vice like grip on the game, not panicking as they slowly but deliberately reeled in the Rossies. That's a hindsight opinion.

From my (TG4) point of view in the 2nd half, once Malone struck the goal early in the 2nd half, Monaghan made tortuous , snail's pace  progress on the scoreboard, I wouldn't have minded a bit of panic.
It  took an eternity for Monaghan to equalise  and  I thought once the  Rossies went up the pitch and scored just after, at best Monaghan could get a draw, considering their prowess on the day.
But two things happened,  a mistake and McManus. And Monaghan grabbed the victory.
But post game,  the 20/20 vision  punditry is about Monaghan's controlled patience and confidence winning out in the end as if we knowledgeable folks all knew that it would transpire this way.

Everyone has a fancy for easy narratives, sadly. I think Duggan is an excellent writer so it's disappointing he relied on such a forced narrative.

Bit of a murky game for both teams. Hard to see a shape or pattern yet.