Roscommon vs. Mayo - Connacht SFC Semi-final (Dr. Hyde Park, June 8th 2014)

[moysider]

Hard luck to the Rossies in here. I was sure with 10 to go that ye were going to kick on and win by 4/5 after Murtagh s inspirational scores.

So I m delighted with the resolve shown by us at the death to hang in and steal it. These were the types of game we used to lose to Ros/Galway in my youth. At least we cant be accused of throwing in the towel today - not that Horans team ever has. So I was thrilled with the win if not quite the performance. I d have still taken a draw in injury time when we were hanging on too.

Conditions didn t help either team, ball a bar o soap and a wind all over the place.

When I got back to the wagon and turned on midwest radio I thought somebody had died. Maughan downbeat and Billy Fitz practically in tears. The chance is gone they believe. There is no magic up front. It s difficult to put up an arguement. When a team sets up against us like Tyrone did last year and Roscommon repeated today we struggle and expect the same the next day. Our game has been rumbled and today our carriers and runners were ambushed and turned over repeatedly or forced into poor kick passing. Our inside forwards just don t have the dash to get on enough ball either (although Cillian did well I thought). Freeman was hurt in warm-up when he was clattered by Hennelly and looked for a while like he might not start at all. He was beaten for more ball than he won. McLoughlin needs to play on the wing maybe with Richie on the other wing with Cillian at 11. Agree with those who want Boyle restored to the wing. If Gibbons and Parsons return to fitness it gives us options. We will get sharper and it s 5 weeks before CF but it is difficult to see where the inspiration inside is going to come from.

[bucko]

Just back in the door, relief being the overriding feeling after scraping through that one. Fair play to Ros, they had a game plan. It wasn't pretty, but they stuck with it, brought in the young guns at the right time and only for a lack of composure could've have won it. As for ourselves, that win is not going to paper over the problems that are still evident since the AIF. 1-9 we were OK (and only OK), but our HF forward line is becoming more ineffective with every game, and playing Kevin McLoughlin at 13 is not helping the situation. It was no coincidence that he was far more effective when he came out the field and stayed there rather than flitting in and out from the FF line. Our FF line had no shape to it other than Freeman staying at the edge of the square. I couldn't figure out how we were setting up to play, so no surprise that our attacks were breaking down between the Ros 40 and 21, due to a combination of Ros' blanket defending, little or no movement from the FF line, lack of support runners, players appearing to seek out heavy traffic instead of open space and again an inability to consistently deliver decent long ball in. Moy got it right about finishing with a stronger forward line than that which started, only for that we'd be looking at the qualifier draw.

[macdanger2]

It looked like the FF line were making no runs resulting in.the man on the ball ending up carrying the ball and eventually getting swallowed up.

The game v Galway would be in Castlebar, where would s game v sligo be??

[Syferus]

It looked like the FF line were making no runs resulting in.the man on the ball ending up carrying the ball and eventually getting swallowed up.

The game v Galway would be in Castlebar, where would s game v sligo be??

Castlebar unless Sligo County Board have the brass balls it would take to defy Prenty and take it to Salthill.

[Shrewdness]

Congrats to both teams. To Mayo for coming back to win when it looked like it was slipping away from them. To Roscommon for making little of the Div 1 and Div 3 status of the two teams. I feel it was a game we left behind us. We gave gave away some very silly frees to let Mayo back in when we were 2-3 points clear..Some of our shot selection was poor with Kevin Higgins being the main culprit. He played well overall, but needs to consider his options better. Have to say that i was very disappointed with the performances of both D Shine and Cregg today. Cregg's lack of scoring in last 3 games is a concern. My final point for now is a question... Did John Evans blunder by not starting the Under 21's?

[Syferus]

Congrats to both teams. To Mayo for coming back to win when it looked like it was slipping away from them. To Roscommon for making little of the Div 1 and Div 3 status of the two teams. I feel it was a game we left behind us. We gave gave away some very silly frees to let Mayo back in when we were 2-3 points clear..Some of our shot selection was poor with Kevin Higgins being the main culprit. He played well overall, but needs to consider his options better. Have to say that i was very disappointed with the performances of both D Shine and Cregg today. Cregg's lack of scoring in last 3 games is a concern. My final point for now is a question... Did John Evans blunder by not starting the Under 21's?

Hard for Cregger to score from playing a sweeper role for much of the game in fairness.

We all know why Diarmuid and Enda weren't starting and it didn't have anything to do with form. Both will start the next day, particularly with Donie likely out - the ladeens in the know seem to fear it's a cruciate, so he could be in a race to be fit for 2015, nevermind the next day.

Conoreen and Keenan would be big boosts if they were fit for the next day.

[Shrewdness]

Syferus, would you not agree that Cregg's form and performance level has dipped in the last 3 games? For such a key game, i didn't think he played today. Have to give a mention to the referee who i felt was very poor for both teams.

[Syferus]

Syferus, would you not agree that Cregg's form and performance level has dipped in the last 3 games? For such a key game, i didn't think he played today. Have to give a mention to the referee who i felt was very poor for both teams.

In terms of forward play absolutely but I thought Cregg won so much ball in the trenches and intercepted plenty of ball in his full-back line too. The lad's work-rate is unreal, even the likes of Paul Flynn don't get around the pitch as much as Cregger. The fact he's a swiss knife of a player means he's never really got a chance to settle into a role. He's given the freedom of the park most days.

Referee was mad-cap alright, that foul on Daly going up the field that he gave the other way is one of the most obviously wrong calls I've seen in an age. He told Niall he'd dived. Nothing to do with the shunt into his back of course.

[Shrewdness]

Syferus, where do we go from here? We can assume that Shine is out of the picture. Murtagh and Smith must start, and as you say, the prospect of Keenan and Conor Daly being available would be a boost. Needless to say, we could do with the luck of the draw for a change.

[Zulu]

He did dive, the ref was 100% correct.

[Mayo4Sam]

Cregg  was diabolical even from the half back line, more interested in throwing his (considerable) weight around than playing football

Huge mistake not playing D Murtagh

In fairness to Freeman some of the balls going into him were brutal

[Syferus]

Syferus, where do we go from here? We can assume that Shine is out of the picture. Murtagh and Smith must start, and as you say, the prospect of Keenan and Conor Daly being available would be a boost. Needless to say, we could do with the luck of the draw for a change.

Still a possibility we can get Tyrone, again.

Really at this point we should be looking to get a win over someone that isn't in the Mayo/Dublin/Cork/Kerry/Maybe Donegal axis. We need a victory against a team ahead of us at this point if we're going to make a leap up the peaking order. Two 'moral' victories against Mayo and Tyrone count for shite all if we just go out and throw the towel in the next day.

I don't seeing this panel wilting but they need to be already forgetting about Mayo and translating their good form this year into something tangible. Look what Cavan achieved with some good rolls of the dice last year. Getting to an AIQF isn't beyond this bunch. I'd settle for a 'handy' draw to get us back up on the horse the next day but we are in the tougher side of the draw iirc.

He did dive, the ref was 100% correct.

Must have been Santa Claus' arm around Niall's neck so.

[Zulu]

May have been but it was definitely Niall's hand grabbing on to the tacklers arm and holding it before throwing himself to the ground.

[Syferus]

May have been but it was definitely Niall's hand grabbing on to the tacklers arm and holding it before throwing himself to the ground.

So you're saying the Mayo man made an illegal tackle?

[Zulu]

nope