Leitrim v Roscommon 12-6-11

[ross matt]

Moran did mention that they heard the conditions were going to get worse in the 2nd half so that was behind his decision. Either way they needed to keep the score down in the first half. Once they didnt it was going to be impossible to get enough even with the wind.

From a Ross point of view I was very happy with the performance. The team as a whole is gaining confidence with every win and this is huge for a relatively young side. Up to 18months ago Ross had developed a losing habit and it drained the confidence out of guys. Been in division 4 has undoubtedly helped with the improvement and added to Bridgets run in the club championship most of the players haven't tasted too many defeats the past year which helps progress up the ladder.

One part of the game which I would have a concern about was the distribution from midfield/HF into the front men.
They mixed the bad with the good and Donies goal came from a miskick.
If you had the likes of Dolan hitting Shine and Senan accurately they would do even more damage.
In that regard we are missing David O Gara bigtime as he is the most natural playmaker in the panel.
Anyone any idea how his injury is coming along?

All in all after Sunday the pressure is off, 2 potential banana skins out of the way, and the players can look forward to a home Connacht final as underdogs in front of what should be the biggest crowd in the Hyde in ten years.

Rossie 11 - I heard O'Gara would be back in contention for the next match but I'm not sure. Great drive and ability in him if he were to come in but hard to leave any of yesterdays half forward line out.

[ross4life]

Moran did mention that they heard the conditions were going to get worse in the 2nd half so that was behind his decision. Either way they needed to keep the score down in the first half. Once they didnt it was going to be impossible to get enough even with the wind.

From a Ross point of view I was very happy with the performance. The team as a whole is gaining confidence with every win and this is huge for a relatively young side. Up to 18months ago Ross had developed a losing habit and it drained the confidence out of guys. Been in division 4 has undoubtedly helped with the improvement and added to Bridgets run in the club championship most of the players haven't tasted too many defeats the past year which helps progress up the ladder.

One part of the game which I would have a concern about was the distribution from midfield/HF into the front men.
They mixed the bad with the good and Donies goal came from a miskick.
If you had the likes of Dolan hitting Shine and Senan accurately they would do even more damage.
In that regard we are missing David O Gara bigtime as he is the most natural playmaker in the panel.
Anyone any idea how his injury is coming along?

All in all after Sunday the pressure is off, 2 potential banana skins out of the way, and the players can look forward to a home Connacht final as underdogs in front of what should be the biggest crowd in the Hyde in ten years.

Rossie 11 - I heard O'Gara would be back in contention for the next match but I'm not sure. Great drive and ability in him if he were to come in but hard to leave any of yesterdays half forward line out.

Club games for the next couple of weeks now & if O'Gara line's out in those he's sure to take the 26th spot on the panel now vacated by Ian Kilbride.

[Rossfan]

That game on Sunday was too feckin handy.
A Season in Div 4 followed by two handy games v NY and the Neighbours means we are going into  a Connacht final with no serious test.
The last thing we need is a walloping from one of the "Big 2" who of course have to be roarin favourites ( one of them is good at roarin anyway  ).
Still we'll have to give it a shot at any rate but it is a problem going in to a big game with no serious test as a lot of lads who look good along the way can be exposed when it's too late.
However I'd take a Provincial Final any day  -  it's better than ploughing through 2 or 3 rounds of qualifiers so bring them on ....

[magpie seanie]

Despite the easy win on the scoreboard Sunday was a decent workout. Leitrim made ye work for it which is good for the final. to be honest I think ye will win Connacht. It's a home final for Ros either way isn't it?

[Rossfan]

It is indeed Seanie.
Unless of course the Prent Connacht council rob us of it like they're doing with our minors 

I wish I could be as confident of our chances as you are . After all we have a lot of young lads who havent much experience of playing at a decent Senior level yet.

[ross matt]

Despite the easy win on the scoreboard Sunday was a decent workout. Leitrim made ye work for it which is good for the final. to be honest I think ye will win Connacht. It's a home final for Ros either way isn't it?

Because of the way Fergie had Ross apply themselves it was a decent work out alright Seanie. But in terms of what Leitrim did with their posession relative to what Mayo and Galway would have done with same it was'nt.

However you can only play whats in front of you and there was no complacency in the NY or Leitrim matches so its unlikely to appear versus any of the big two. I think its great to be in another provincial final but how they measure up to this level of opponent is more important than retaining the title if you know what I mean. Unlike Sligo its a long time since we've been competitive v Galway or Mayo at senior level so regardless of underage success against them the final will be  a serious step up for Roscommon.

[ross4life]

The whole fixture schedule is a balls & it won't help us for the final, 6 weeks we had to wait for that Leitrim game & now another 5 week wait for the Connacht final if we happen to lose the final we'll be out playing 6 days later 

Anyways looking forward to another Connacht final.. I'm going to enjoy the build up & it's a good boost for the town of Roscommon having 30,000

[magpie seanie]

Despite the easy win on the scoreboard Sunday was a decent workout. Leitrim made ye work for it which is good for the final. to be honest I think ye will win Connacht. It's a home final for Ros either way isn't it?

Because of the way Fergie had Ross apply themselves it was a decent work out alright Seanie. But in terms of what Leitrim did with their posession relative to what Mayo and Galway would have done with same it was'nt.

However you can only play whats in front of you and there was no complacency in the NY or Leitrim matches so its unlikely to appear versus any of the big two. I think its great to be in another provincial final but how they measure up to this level of opponent is more important than retaining the title if you know what I mean. Unlike Sligo its a long time since we've been competitive v Galway or Mayo at senior level so regardless of underage success against them the final will be  a serious step up for Roscommon.

I see what you are saying but I wouldn't go along with it. Ye are every bit as good as either of them at present in my view.

[SLIGONIAN]

Despite the easy win on the scoreboard Sunday was a decent workout. Leitrim made ye work for it which is good for the final. to be honest I think ye will win Connacht. It's a home final for Ros either way isn't it?

Because of the way Fergie had Ross apply themselves it was a decent work out alright Seanie. But in terms of what Leitrim did with their posession relative to what Mayo and Galway would have done with same it was'nt.

However you can only play whats in front of you and there was no complacency in the NY or Leitrim matches so its unlikely to appear versus any of the big two. I think its great to be in another provincial final but how they measure up to this level of opponent is more important than retaining the title if you know what I mean. Unlike Sligo its a long time since we've been competitive v Galway or Mayo at senior level so regardless of underage success against them the final will be  a serious step up for Roscommon.

I see what you are saying but I wouldn't go along with it. Ye are every bit as good as either of them at present in my view.

+1

[Blowitupref]

Despite the easy win on the scoreboard Sunday was a decent workout. Leitrim made ye work for it which is good for the final. to be honest I think ye will win Connacht. It's a home final for Ros either way isn't it?

Because of the way Fergie had Ross apply themselves it was a decent work out alright Seanie. But in terms of what Leitrim did with their posession relative to what Mayo and Galway would have done with same it was'nt.

However you can only play whats in front of you and there was no complacency in the NY or Leitrim matches so its unlikely to appear versus any of the big two. I think its great to be in another provincial final but how they measure up to this level of opponent is more important than retaining the title if you know what I mean. Unlike Sligo its a long time since we've been competitive v Galway or Mayo at senior level so regardless of underage success against them the final will be  a serious step up for Roscommon.

I see what you are saying but I wouldn't go along with it. Ye are every bit as good as either of them at present in my view.

Rossies still need to beat Mayo or Galway if they don't that self doubt among their fans & indeed players will remain.

[ross matt]

Despite the easy win on the scoreboard Sunday was a decent workout. Leitrim made ye work for it which is good for the final. to be honest I think ye will win Connacht. It's a home final for Ros either way isn't it?

Because of the way Fergie had Ross apply themselves it was a decent work out alright Seanie. But in terms of what Leitrim did with their posession relative to what Mayo and Galway would have done with same it was'nt.

However you can only play whats in front of you and there was no complacency in the NY or Leitrim matches so its unlikely to appear versus any of the big two. I think its great to be in another provincial final but how they measure up to this level of opponent is more important than retaining the title if you know what I mean. Unlike Sligo its a long time since we've been competitive v Galway or Mayo at senior level so regardless of underage success against them the final will be  a serious step up for Roscommon.

I see what you are saying but I wouldn't go along with it. Ye are every bit as good as either of them at present in my view.

Rossies still need to beat Mayo or Galway if they don't that self doubt among their fans & indeed players will remain.

If they're competitive and narrowly beaten there wont be self doubt. Just not quite there yet. Fergie is very much in to steady progress. If they're hammered though you're right. Self doubt will surface again.

[Shrewdness]

I like the attitude of the 2 Sligo lads above. We have to believe in ourselves and believe that we can beat either Galway or Mayo.
Yes, a lot of our team are young and inexperienced, but if we need inspiration, we can get it from London. They gave it a right go against Mayo, showed no inferiority complex and almost did the unbelievable.

I don't believe that Mayo or Galway are any better this year than they were last year, and they're there to be beaten.

[spuds]

How many of AI winning Ross minor team played last day again Leitrim?

[ross4life]

How many of AI winning Ross minor team played last day again Leitrim?

Seven, Carty,Domican,Keenan,Higgins,Shine,Devaney,Ormsby

[spectator]

Strangely enough this seems like the longest summer ever and we're hardly half way through June yet. We've played two good championship games so far against Div 4 standard opposition, but it almost seems like the NY game was so long ago you'd find yourself wondering was it played last year, while it's such a long wait until the Connacht final you'd imagine it'll almost be next year before it comes around ... most peculiar scheduling, all said. Of course steady development tends towards longer term sustainability, so it's going to be interesting to see can Ros step up another few levels and be competitive against the Galways or Mayos of the western world, on a big occasion such as our provincial final. Realistically I'll be delighted if Ros are competitive in this one and really put it up to our opponents. It'd be a real boost to hopes for their further development if they are tbh, regardless of who actually wins.