Roscommon v Mayo Connacht final 2011

[ross matt]

This is what i said back in October.

As Rossie the target for us in the next 12 month's would be St Brigid's winning Connacht, Roscommon Senior's getting promotion & making a Connacht final & Connacht title for one of our under-aged team's! anything else will be a bonus

Just one Minor win away from achieving that target & of course winning a Connacht senior title would be added bonus but not the end of the world if we don't.

That's a pretty reasonable statement, IMO but I think you may be downplaying the significance of a senior win.
When, if ever, did Roscommon win back-to-back Connacht titles?
Given the years of turmoil and unrest that preceded his appointment, Fergie managed to steer Roscommon to a Connacht title win. This was a fine achievement by any standards but it was all the more remarkable because of Roscommon's dismal League performance.
By comparison, Mayo topped Division One and had their worst Championship campaign in living memory. This year ye operated in an even lower division than last year and are back within sight of the Connacht title once again. Last year's win mightn't mean that much to you hard-to-please lot because: A) you got to the final via the easiest possible and B) you didn't meet either of your Big Bad Neighbours in it. (Absolutely no offence meant, Sligonian!  )
Surely a win this year against either Galway or Mayo means something to ye all?
Rollox to your minors; don't tell me ye aren't bothered about a senior win!
Listen; ye shower could out beal bocht us any day!
We had good reason to feel worried coming up to the Galway match: an indifferent league run that followed on from last year's championship debacle and a cat performance against London gave us no reason to feel upbeat about our chances in McHale Park. But the win against Galway certainly marked progress for our side and ye can forget about white feathers when we meet.
I'm not all that hard to please; a great game followed by a win of any calibre will make me one happy bunny.

Winning the minor would great in terms of continued underage success but the senior match is hugely important for us. We havent beaten Mayo or Galway at this level for a decade and despite having done it at minor/u-21 until its achieved at senior this present Roscommon side be fully "there" yet. 

[Lar Naparka]

We have a fine history of winning back-to-back Connacht Senior titles (check it out it might worry you)

Arrah, I  don't need to check anything; didn't Rossfan give me the answer?
I had expected him to do so alright but I thought a few more of ye would have waded in by now and give me the info I was looking for.
If you read what I wrote again, you will see that I was asking a perfectly straight question. I already knew about the All Ireland years and the four in a row titles but I didn't feel the need to do any grunt work to look up the full list when I knew that some of ye would be only too ready to come up with the answer.
But the last double was 91/92 ( thanks Rossfan) and not one of the present squad was old enough to know anything about it. I'm sure Fergie and his lads know that it's the here and now that matters most and they won't be rubbishing their chances—like some of their supporters are doing.

Indeed it was a fine achievement by fergie last year. i have seen worse Mayo campaigns & have also seen Mayo win Connacht titles from the platform of lower divisions.

Yeah, as muppet says, Mayo were in Div 3 in '96. League status is never a reliable guide to Championship form. Like I said, Mayo topped Div 1 and their exploits in the Championship will long live on in our folk memory—unfortunately. Ross nosedived into Div 4 and are defending their Connacht title now.

And likewise we have good reason to feel worried coming up to the this final the performances v Longford,Fermanagh,Clare,Wicklow are still fresh in the memory & yes since then we got a fine win in Carrick or best for years but come July 17th that will be 6 weeks ago & Leitrim will have shipped equalling heavy defeat.
Of course you have legitimate grounds for concern; same as Mayo. But both counties have grounds for optimism also. I genuinely expect a cracker of a game that will show that Connacht football is alive and well.

[Lar Naparka]

Winning the minor would great in terms of continued underage success but the senior match is hugely important for us. We havent beaten Mayo or Galway at this level for a decade and despite having done it at minor/u-21 until its achieved at senior this present Roscommon side be fully "there" yet.

Spot on; that's the very point I was trying to make.

[ross matt]

We have a fine history of winning back-to-back Connacht Senior titles (check it out it might worry you)

Arrah, I  don't need to check anything; didn't Rossfan give me the answer?
I had expected him to do so alright but I thought a few more of ye would have waded in by now and give me the info I was looking for.
If you read what I wrote again, you will see that I was asking a perfectly straight question. I already knew about the All Ireland years and the four in a row titles but I didn't feel the need to do any grunt work to look up the full list when I knew that some of ye would be only too ready to come up with the answer.
But the last double was 91/92 ( thanks Rossfan) and not one of the present squad was old enough to know anything about it. I'm sure Fergie and his lads know that it's the here and now that matters most and they won't be rubbishing their chances—like some of their supporters are doing.

Indeed it was a fine achievement by fergie last year. i have seen worse Mayo campaigns & have also seen Mayo win Connacht titles from the platform of lower divisions.

Yeah, as muppet says, Mayo were in Div 3 in '96. League status is never a reliable guide to Championship form. Like I said, Mayo topped Div 1 and their exploits in the Championship will long live on in our folk memory—unfortunately. Ross nosedived into Div 4 and are defending their Connacht title now.

And likewise we have good reason to feel worried coming up to the this final the performances v Longford,Fermanagh,Clare,Wicklow are still fresh in the memory & yes since then we got a fine win in Carrick or best for years but come July 17th that will be 6 weeks ago & Leitrim will have shipped equalling heavy defeat.
Of course you have legitimate grounds for concern; same as Mayo. But both counties have grounds for optimism also. I genuinely expect a cracker of a game that will show that Connacht football is alive and well.

+1 Lar. I think (certainly hope) it will be a great game.

[ross4life]

We have a fine history of winning back-to-back Connacht Senior titles (check it out it might worry you)

Arrah, I  don't need to check anything; didn't Rossfan give me the answer?
I had expected him to do so alright but I thought a few more of ye would have waded in by now and give me the info I was looking for.
If you read what I wrote again, you will see that I was asking a perfectly straight question. I already knew about the All Ireland years and the four in a row titles but I didn't feel the need to do any grunt work to look up the full list when I knew that some of ye would be only too ready to come up with the answer.
But the last double was 91/92 ( thanks Rossfan) and not one of the present squad was old enough to know anything about it. I'm sure Fergie and his lads know that it's the here and now that matters most and they won't be rubbishing their chances—like some of their supporters are doing.

Indeed it was a fine achievement by fergie last year. i have seen worse Mayo campaigns & have also seen Mayo win Connacht titles from the platform of lower divisions.

Yeah, as muppet says, Mayo were in Div 3 in '96. League status is never a reliable guide to Championship form. Like I said, Mayo topped Div 1 and their exploits in the Championship will long live on in our folk memory—unfortunately. Ross nosedived into Div 4 and are defending their Connacht title now.

And likewise we have good reason to feel worried coming up to the this final the performances v Longford,Fermanagh,Clare,Wicklow are still fresh in the memory & yes since then we got a fine win in Carrick or best for years but come July 17th that will be 6 weeks ago & Leitrim will have shipped equalling heavy defeat.
Of course you have legitimate grounds for concern; same as Mayo. But both counties have grounds for optimism also. I genuinely expect a cracker of a game that will show that Connacht football is alive and well.

I thought that original comment was tongue in cheek? afterall where not like Leitrim,Sligo with few Connacht titles.

Obviously your not going for it this year however Mayo haven't won back to back Connacht titles since the mid 90s & none of the current panel are old enough to know anything about it though would it make it any more important?
When we won our last back to backs in 90/91 it was with ageing squad the current squad are youthful that hopefully will have many opportunities.

Same here i hope for a cracker of a game! last five Connacht finals where all won by one point & if it's a repeat of that it will mean we have made significant progress from our last few meetings v Mayo.

[Shrewdness]

6 pages into this thread and it seems to me that there's a lot of shadow boxing going on amongst us so far.
How long can it be before the real fireworks start here

It's worth noting that the Mayo people on here had a lot more written about the London game 2 weeks beforehand than they have about the Connacht Final, with 2 weeks to go.

This mutual appreciation and beal bocht crap won't last much longer, and what's the betting that a Mayoman will throw the first low blow of a post

[Rossfan]

what's the betting that a Mayoman will throw the first low blow of a post

Sure it's the only way they know.

[ballinaman]

what's the betting that a Mayoman will throw the first low blow of a post

Sure it's the only way they know.

They don't have much of an effect though....

[mannix]

After saying mayo would clobber London and nearly having a seizure listening on the radio to it, I will be happy if we beat them by a point. Still, at least mayo will not be confident about winning it and that's a good thing.
How sad to see Galway back to being a non event team again.

[GalwayBayBoy]

How sad to see Galway back to being a non event team again.

Can't deny that we are down at the moment. But we will be back with bells on at some stage.

[muppet]

what's the betting that a Mayoman will throw the first low blow of a post

Sure it's the only way they know.

Let's sit around and figure out the stupidity of this.

[IolarCoisCuain]

It's worth noting that the Mayo people on here had a lot more written about the London game 2 weeks beforehand than they have about the Connacht Final, with 2 weeks to go.

This thread might be longer if the discussion on the Mayo v Galway weren't still ongoing as issues remain to be settled. Plenty of time yet.

[Lar Naparka]

what's the betting that a Mayoman will throw the first low blow of a post

Sure it's the only way they know.

Let's sit around and figure out the stupidity of this.

Musha, there's no need to sit down at all.
I'd take it as a compliment given its source!!
It's a case of praise from the master or an example of "Primus inter Pares" or whatever ye're having yerselves.

[Shrewdness]

The thing that concerns me about Ros is the facile nature of their two wins against poor opposition...They have yet to be tested seriously against a higher standard of opposition, and how will they react when they are.

Mayo got their fright in London, and at half time against Galway seemed to be heading for the Qualifiers, but they buckled down in the second half and came through easily, albeit against a very poor team with a big name.

I think Mayo will come on a good bit from that win, especially in the confidence stakes. They would have gone into the Galway game with their confidence shaken after what happened in London..The Galway win will see a different Mayo in the final, and it's how Roscommon can react to that which concerns me.....Time will tell.

[Farrandeelin]

I'm kinda stuck on this one, not on my prediction but whether or not I can go! I've a wedding the day/night before the game, and I really want to go to it but I don't think I will make it plus my gf wouldn't be too happy if I snuck away from her so I'll have to go against my wishes and miss it. As for my prediction I'll make it the morning of the match.