Shane Curran - GAA Grobelaar??

threebeards

Joint top scorer on Saturday evening with a goal from a penalty and a point from a free kick towards the end of normal time. Is he a goalkeeping liability or the ingredient Roscommon need to instill confidence in the team???

thirdmantackle

Liability? No way!! He is a class keeper - one of the best shot stoppers in the country. Used to play for Athlone town and had a trial with Man U when younger. He used to play in the forwards for Ros in the mid '90s.

He is very passionate about playing in a Ros jersey - and why wouldn't he be?

threebeards

I'm not disputing anything that you say. I think his performance on Saturday will at the very least mean another all star nomination, if only for the fact that he's such a great character. On the other hand, his antics have been known to get him in trouble - take for instance his sending off against New York a couple of seasons ago. I agree with you when you say he's a great shot stopper. As a Mayo man, I hope we beat Galway and have a Mayo Ros final for a change.

thirdmantackle

like back in 2001? now that was a great macth

threebeards

Being realistic though, it's hard to see Galway not coming out of Connaught again. It's hard to get an idea of their calibre from yesterdays game, but they had a long and relatively successful league campaign. Their forwards are probably among the most dangerous in the country (something I'd love to be able to say about Mayo) and in O'Mahoney, they have a solid manager.

thirdmantackle

I wouldn't be too worried about Ros playing Galway - it'll be in the Hyde and we always give them a good game.

I still think Mayo are capable of beating Galway... that galway team love themselves too much are in line for fall. Their midfield isn't the best, and if the ball stops going into the forwards then the wheels might come off the Galway bandwagon - their backs aren't the best

Mighty_Mouse

Cake is a fantastic shot-stopper. He's comparable to Davi Fitz for Clare hurling. You can't argue that Curran doesnt give the team something more than the traditional keeper. His pint which should of won Ros the match was one of the greatest moments in GAA i've witnesses and would of gone down in history had the Ref found his whistle to end things. His humour shaking the hand of Sligo's Paul Taylor before the penalty, his Bruce Grobbelar antics before the kick, and Taylors own humour to walk in a shake Currans hand after burying the penalty were magic moments in a first round championship match.

SligoVRos was the best match I've been at in years. It had everything from humour, anxiety, relief and happiness. It was fasinating stuff. I am completely disgusted by the coverage this game has received from all aspects of the media and especially the Sunday Game last night. The fact that the match was not televised in the first place instead of "little house on the prairie" or whatever was on at the time was a bigger disgrace.

The only match reports I've read have included "token" crappy sayings and none have properly captured how much this match was enjoyed by all in attendance. (yesterday Times is good though). I think this game will stand to both Ros and Sligo in the championship but it also showed Sligos one-dimensional aspects. The are limited in the forwards and over-rely on oHara. Their "pack-like" running forward game is dated and expected from the opposition. With the hits Ros were putting in their game soon became too demanding.

Ros also showed that more of their forwards need to contribute to the game. Young Connellan, Henegan, and Nigel Dineen all need to step things up. Cox can also raise his game but contributed well. I thought J Tiernan and Dunning did well in linking up the forwards to the rest of the team when they came on and Dunning is sure to start the next day. F Grehan played brilliantly when moved to centre half forward in extra time and David Casey play like a man posssessed on his introduction. The backs for Ros were all good but in particular Ros Mixer Ryan was tidy. But John Whyte in corner back deserves a special mention. His shoulder which nailed Sligo no 13 on the way through drew a groan from the crowd and sent the message to the Sligo forwards that if they wanted their points they would have to fight for them. O hara and O neill had a great battle in Midfield with Stevie Lohan stepping things up for Ros from the last day. If this is a sign that S Lohan can continue to improve in the midfield position then things are looking rosy for Roscommon. The tactical play of Tommy Carr in particular was superb and caught Sligo off balance on several occasions. S ONeill deciding to break ball in the second half worked particularly well and prevented O hara from gathering clean possession.

A special mention has to be given also to the referee who needs to trade in his egg-timer for a stop watch pretty quickly. He played damn near 5 mins of extra time when only 3 were called at the end of the game allowing Sligo to equalise.Also the end of theextra time was delayed for similar reasons. Sending off Dolan, allowing O Hara to stand only 9 yards from Curran's memorable point and several penalty decisions were all dodgy decisions.

Roll on the Leitrim muck-savages, ya may stay hidden in yer long grass cos the Rossies are humming like a lawnmower this year!!!

threebeards

Originally posted by Mighty_Mouse
Cake is a fantastic shot-stopper.

Agreed.

Originally posted by Mighty_Mouse
I am completely disgusted by the coverage this game has received from all aspects of the media and especially the Sunday Game last night. The fact that the match was not televised in the first place instead of "little house on the prairie" or whatever was on at the time was a bigger disgrace.

Again, have to say I agree.

The one worrying thing from a Roscommon point of view though is temperament. Dolan, while being one of the most naturally gifted forwards ever to wear boots, has a tendency to lose the head. I admit he was harshly sent off on Saturday, but on previous occasions it was merited. O'Neill can be provoked too if things are'nt going his way, but in Cake, they have a star. I know Shane quite well and if confidence won titles, Ros would have been All Ireland champions for the last 3 years. He really is a character though. I'll never forget the meeting of the captains last year when he greeted Kevin Walsh, live on national television with the words, "Howya ya big f*cker". The stuff of legends!!!

por

Originally posted by Mighty_Mouse
I am completely disgusted by the coverage this game has received from all aspects of the media and especially the Sunday Game last night. The fact that the match was not televised in the first place instead of "little house on the prairie" or whatever was on at the time was a bigger disgrace.

I can't remember where I read it but no Saturday eveining games are going to be broadcast live this year, it was taking away from attendance at club and other games.

threebeards

Originally posted by por
I can't remember where I read it but no Saturday eveining games are going to be broadcast live this year, it was taking away from attendance at club and other games.

It's a huge pity. Most Saturday evening games are replays which by their very nature tend to be (in a lot of cases) better than the original games. I wasn't at the game on Saturday but every newspaper report said that it was a brilliant game of football.

Ronan|Raven

I played against him a few times in soccer and have to say he really was great crack to play against as well as bloody infuriating! He scored a greta point the last day which really deserved to have won the match for roscommon at that stage.

stevemac

just curious what ye think about roscommon being allowed to have 15 players for extra time.
ie the fact that extra time is counted as a different game etc.

i also mean this in general and am not asking just because it was roscommon, no anti-roscommon feelings here

but i personally don't like the rule, i think they should be still down to 14 men afterwards.

what do ye think?

Waylander

Yeah, I would be inclined to agree with you here, I think if you have a man sent off you should have to finish with one less man. The only point about this is that if you carry a yellow card into extra time and get another one during that I think a sending off is harsh, as you did not get booked twice over the length of one match.

stevemac

yeah thats a good point as well.
If reds don't carry forward why should yellows.

threebeards

Originally posted by Waylander
The only point about this is that if you carry a yellow card into extra time and get another one during that I think a sending off is harsh, as you did not get booked twice over the length of one match.

Absolutely - if they're going to wipe the slate clean as regards sendings off in normal time, then I agree and say I also think they should clear yellows.

thirdmantackle

Well thats twice that Ros have benefitted from that rule about sent off players in extra time. Last year (was it vs Offaly or Kildare?) Seamis O'Neill was sent off but could still play the next day and Ros were restored to 15 men for extra time - we won both games. Its amazing how Ros always seem to squeeze through those tight games in extra time