Roscommon GAA Discussion Thread

megadodge

TCDStudent1 wrote: »

The Roscommon defence must be awful if thats the case! Because Galway do not have brilliant defenders. The full back line is particularly suspect. Dont think Galway's midfield is too mysterious either as Conroy & Flynn are very well known players.



The one thing I loved about Galway being in D2 was nobody knew what you were up to as their games received much less coverage. This year, a lot of experts have suddenly emerged about Galway. So I don't know a whole lot about Roscommon this year. While ye won the D2 league final, I felt ye looked very very open at the back in that game and if ye don't tighten up, I think Galway will win. I guess McStay is probably astute enough to tighten things up though. And from what I have seen in the past, the Murtaghs & Smith are quality players. Not sure I'd swap them for Walsh & Comer however.

Galway ARE better defensively than Roscommon. Because Roscommon are quite poor defensively!

Galway have improved defensively from last year, I think anybody can see that, but it's a collective effort, a system they have bought into, rather than any individual stars. Having said that I think Sean Andy is the real deal.

Offensively, Roscommon are excellent. The bulk of the team are very comfortable finishing and some of their approach play is as good as anything you'll see. Unfortunately, I think there's a kind of 'you score one we'll score two' mentality, which is very entertaining for the neutral, but not for the hard-core supporters.

In relation to the 'mystery' of the midfields, I'm very familiar with the Galway pair (they work in Roscommon), but they have been very inconsistent (especially Flynn) over the years. For Roscommon Compton is a serious footballer and consistent, but Tadhg O'Ruairc is not quite up to this level in my opinion. But Enda Smith will probably play around the middle too, so it's hard to know who'll get the upper hand there. I doubt Roscommon will dominate the sector as they so surprisingly did last year.

TCDStudent1

megadodge wrote: »

Galway ARE better defensively than Roscommon. Because Roscommon are quite poor defensively!

Galway have improved defensively from last year, I think anybody can see that, but it's a collective effort, a system they have bought into, rather than any individual stars. Having said that I think Sean Andy is the real deal.

Offensively, Roscommon are excellent. The bulk of the team are very comfortable finishing and some of their approach play is as good as anything you'll see. Unfortunately, I think there's a kind of 'you score one we'll score two' mentality, which is very entertaining for the neutral, but not for the hard-core supporters.

In relation to the 'mystery' of the midfields, I'm very familiar with the Galway pair (they work in Roscommon), but they have been very inconsistent (especially Flynn) over the years. For Roscommon Compton is a serious footballer and consistent, but Tadhg O'Ruairc is not quite up to this level in my opinion. But Enda Smith will probably play around the middle too, so it's hard to know who'll get the upper hand there. I doubt Roscommon will dominate the sector as they so surprisingly did last year.

He is very raw so far and has made a lot of mistakes in the championship so far. However, he certainly improves our full back line since last year. I think he can grow into a top class full back in the years to come. David Wynne comes for Eoin Kerin tomorrow which severely weakens our full back line. Kerin is a very tight and sticky defender. I am not convinced Wynne is up to this standard so Roscommon may do well from whoever he is marking. One player Roscommon might not be too familiar with is Sean Kelly who has been brilliant this year - fantastic in the league, big part to play when he came on v Mayo and got MOTM from many media outlets. If he ends up marking Devaney, it could be a great tussle between them. Devaney was excellent against Galway last year.

nice_guy80

Much easier to tighten up a defence than find a few scoring forwards

Addle

Great day for Roscommon town today.
Brilliant buzz around.
Business' (pubs) taking advantage.
Parking seems to be very limited around town. We've a long walk to the Hyde from the Athlone side.

crusier

Hard luck! But ye kicked it away!

nice_guy80

Threw it away
Kicked 3/4 balls into goalie and then wides
Shooting was terrible

Ronan|Raven

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Threw it away
Kicked 3/4 balls into goalie and then side's
Shooting was terrible

Exactly. Did ourselves no favors what so ever. Terrible use of the final ball.

megadodge

Firstly - well done Galway. Showed great character and desire when required. And as a number of Rossies said to me after "at least it's better than losing to Mayo":)

From a Roscommon perspective, it all boils down to two words - Compton's injury!

I don't think you can ever overestimate the winning of the midfield battle when it comes to affecting the overall result and for as long as I live nobody will ever convince me that Roscommon would not have won that match if Cathal Compton hadn't been injured.

Despite the fact that I'm an optimist by nature, as he was coming off I turned to my buddy and said "that's an absolute disaster for Roscommon". The worst possible player to go off for us. His timing when jumping is just superb. For the entire second half Galway won virtually every single kickout and when you have a team consistently coming at you over and over again, then it's only a matter of time. If you think of last year's match and with Enda dominating the middle Galway capitulated cos they just couldn't get the ball often enough.

Even allowing for that, some of the shot selection in the second half was mystifying, especially when you consider how patient Roscommon were in the first half. Taking pot shots from outside the 50 and three left-footed players, none of whom are known as two-footed taking shots with their right feet were just really strange decisions. If Roscommon were as patient in the second half as they were in the first they would surely have worked a few more scores - and that might have sufficed.

A number of players did very well. McInerney did the best job on Comer I've seen and I fully expected him to also. I've been a fan of his for quite a while as he's an outstanding man-marker, as good as any in the country.

Diarmuid was excellent, but got absolutely no support when Galway moved a second (and sometimes) third man in on him when in possession.

Enda was outstanding in the first half, he was like a quarterback passing and probing and in general making things happen, but had to move to midfield when Cathal went off and his influence waned.

Fintan Cregg also did very well on the ball, controlled a lot of the play and in general can be happy with his display in an unfamiliar position.

Anyway, I really, really hope that rather than sit around feeling sorry for themselves, Roscommon pick themselves up and give the qualifier match a serious go of it. They are capable of mixing it with anyone in the qualifiers, if they're interested. And they should be, considering the reward.

TheRiverman

This is a huge backward step for Roscommon.They should have improved from last year's win,won two in a row in Connaught today and be the first team in the Super 8.
Galway were bad in the first half today,but Roscommon's ponderous,horrible handpassing was unbelievable when they should and could have pushed on to a 6-8 point half time lead.Bad day for McStay and Roscommon and I dont think it is going to get better in the qualifiers.

megadodge

TheRiverman wrote: »

This is a huge backward step for Roscommon.They should have improved from last year's win,won two in a row in Connaught today and be the first team in the Super 8.
Galway were bad in the first half today,but Roscommon's ponderous,horrible handpassing was unbelievable when they should and could have pushed on to a 6-8 point at least half time lead.Bad day for McStay and Roscommon and I dont think it is going to get better in the qualifiers.

Could you explain that one please?

Galway played c. 12 men behind the ball in a zonal defensive setup. How would you go about beating that defense? Hoofing the ball into the square?

I thought Roscommon's patience and probing in the first half was excellent and unfortunately they DIDN'T do that in the second half. Stupid pot shots from distance and impatient kicking off weaker feet when they should just have recycled and waited for a better opportunity, just like the first half.

But of course the 'kick the f*ckin ball will ya' brigade will always whinge.

nice_guy80

megadodge wrote: »

Could you explain that one please?

Galway played c. 12 men behind the ball in a zonal defensive setup. How would you go about beating that defense? Hoofing the ball into the square?

I thought Roscommon's patience and probing in the first half was excellent and unfortunately they DIDN'T do that in the second half. Stupid pot shots from distance and impatient kicking off weaker feet when they should just have recycled and waited for a better opportunity, just like the first half.

But of course the 'kick the f*ckin ball will ya' brigade will always whinge.

Didn't kick the ball up the field quick enough in 2nd half
3 balls went in - Diarmuid won one, Cregger another (should have a peno) and Diarmuid somehow dropped the other and had the ball kicked out of his hands

megadodge

nice_guy80 wrote: »

Didn't kick the ball up the field quick enough in 2nd half
3 balls went in - Diarmuid won one, Cregger another (should have a peno) and Diarmuid somehow dropped the other and had the ball kicked out of his hands

It's very hard to kick the ball to one player being marked by two, sometimes three men. Galway kept players back at all times especially on Diarumuid as he was the main threat.

Two of those kicks you mentioned were after some of the handpassing that was being criticised. This 'kick the ball' mentality is usually from those watching a restricted picture on TV. When you can see the full pitch you realise there's no option to kick to most of the time.

A lack of patience (which worked so well in the first half) was the real problem.... besides winning no kickout.

Robson99

megadodge wrote: »

Could you explain that one please?

Galway played c. 12 men behind the ball in a zonal defensive setup. How would you go about beating that defense? Hoofing the ball into the square?

I thought Roscommon's patience and probing in the first half was excellent and unfortunately they DIDN'T do that in the second half. Stupid pot shots from distance and impatient kicking off weaker feet when they should just have recycled and waited for a better opportunity, just like the first half.

But of course the 'kick the f*ckin ball will ya' brigade will always whinge.

Roscommons patience in the first half was as much to do with Galway standing way too far off them as it was to good play.
When Galway pushed onto them in the second half Roscommon were shown up to be an average side. True losing Compton didn't help but 8 scores is a shocking return for a team with so called good forwards.

megadodge

Robson99 wrote: »

Roscommons patience in the first half was as much to do with Galway standing way too far off them as it was to good play.
When Galway pushed onto them in the second half Roscommon were shown up to be an average side. True losing Compton didn't help but 8 scores is a shocking return for a team with so called good forwards.

But that's my whole point.

With Galway set up the way they were, handpassing back and forth, probing runs, dummy runs, quick 1-2s etc. is the way to beat that and it worked in the first half. But of course the internet / pub experts will use the cliched 'ponderous handpassing' soundbite and offer absolutely no alternative solution. It's just so bloody predictable and boring at this stage.

I'll agree with you that Roscommon's forwards (besides Diarmuid Murtagh) didn't exactly cover themselves in glory today, but one bad day doesn't make them bad forwards. Galway's much more hyped forwards (besides Shane Walsh) didn't exactly live up to their reputation either.

TheRiverman

megadodge wrote: »

Could you explain that one please?

Galway played c. 12 men behind the ball in a zonal defensive setup. How would you go about beating that defense? Hoofing the ball into the square?

I thought Roscommon's patience and probing in the first half was excellent and unfortunately they DIDN'T do that in the second half. Stupid pot shots from distance and impatient kicking off weaker feet when they should just have recycled and waited for a better opportunity, just like the first half.

But of course the 'kick the f*ckin ball will ya' brigade will always whinge.

Watch Roscommon's first goal again.How many times did they move the ball like that in the first half?

Robson99

megadodge wrote: »

But that's my whole point.

With Galway set up the way they were, handpassing back and forth, probing runs, dummy runs, quick 1-2s etc. is the way to beat that and it worked in the first half. But of course the internet / pub experts will use the cliched 'ponderous handpassing' soundbite and offer absolutely no alternative solution. It's just so bloody predictable and boring at this stage.

I'll agree with you that Roscommon's forwards (besides Diarmuid Murtagh) didn't exactly cover themselves in glory today, but one bad day doesn't make them bad forwards. Galway's much more hyped forwards (besides Shane Walsh) didn't exactly live up to their reputation either.

Galway put 16 points on the board, Comer was very well marked but still got a couple points when the pressure was on. Also Ian Burke was very good throughout. Overall and this is not having a dig at Roscommon but Galway had much more pace and and scoring ability. 2-6 wont win you a div 2 league game let alone a Connacht Final

franglan

Initial thoughts after travelling from Ros today, without reading the posts from today above me!

Good first half when we could get the two boys up front isolated you could see we would get scores and looked dangerous. Particularly on the break before Galway could get their blanket defense back in shape. Murtagh's goal was chase in point on this.

Compton was a huge loss today. Has come on alot and is more than capable of playing midfield for us. He has a great knack of timing his jump and then getting the knee up on the opposite's back for extra leverage. His direct replacement Harney showed great energy and loved ball today as he always does. Not sure where his best position is but that a separate matter.

We showed great patience in our attack for the most part in the first half. We controlled the attack outside Galway's 45 and then went to go through the gears when on the attack to get the score. The wrap around which was evident in the league and against Leitrim was not evident today. Our forward's móvement was labored at times. We lost our disipline then in the second half. Taken on shots where there wasnt a shot on, we hadnt set ourselves and either they floated short (with the wind)!) or went aimlessly wide. It felt like we were 2 or 3 points down against the wind rather than up which was puzzling at best! That has to go do to the players taken on those shots. Donie Smith took one in both halves which in less that 60 seconds we coughed up scores from the resulting kickout.

Above adds up to us not scoring from play in the second half which is damming particularly with the forwards we have.

McInerney was excellent today and should get applauded for that. Devaney's penalty as well has to be noted - as good as you'll see.

megadodge

TheRiverman wrote: »

Watch Roscommon's first goal again.How many times did they move the ball like that in the first half?

You mean the goal that had a load of handpassing in the buildup - the very thing that you were complaining about?

TCDStudent1

franglan wrote: »

Initial thoughts after travelling from Ros today, without reading the posts from today above me!

Good first half when we could get the two boys up front isolated you could see we would get scores and looked dangerous. Particularly on the break before Galway could get their blanket defense back in shape. Murtagh's goal was chase in point on this.

Compton was a huge loss today. Has come on alot and is more than capable of playing midfield for us. He has a great knack of timing his jump and then getting the knee up on the opposite's back for extra leverage. His direct replacement Harney showed great energy and loved ball today as he always does. Not sure where his best position is but that a separate matter.

We showed great patience in our attack for the most part in the first half. We controlled the attack outside Galway's 45 and then went to go through the gears when on the attack to get the score. The wrap around which was evident in the league and against Leitrim was not evident today. Our forward's móvement was labored at times. We lost our disipline then in the second half. Taken on shots where there wasnt a shot on, we hadnt set ourselves and either they floated short (with the wind)!) or went aimlessly wide. It felt like we were 2 or 3 points down against the wind rather than up which was puzzling at best! That has to go do to the players taken on those shots. Donie Smith took one in both halves which in less that 60 seconds we coughed up scores from the resulting kickout.

Above adds up to us not scoring from play in the second half which is damming particularly with the forwards we have.

McInerney was excellent today and should get applauded for that. Devaney's penalty as well has to be noted - as good as you'll see.

It was indeed a brilliantly taken penalty at a time when Roscommon desperately needed a score.

aidan24326

For me Roscommon kicked it away in the first 10-15 mins of the second half. They had chances to go 6 or 7 points up and really put Galway under serious pressure but every wide sucked a bit of confidence out of the Roscommon players and allowed Galway to hang in there while playing poorly.

But overall I don't think Roscommon can have any complaints, when you don't score from play in the entire second half, playing with a stiff breeze, that's just not good enough.

rn

I think the breeze died a bit in second half, but we can have no complaints. Beaten by better team on the day. Still though we can take a lot of positives from that game, disappointing and all is the result. We've just under 3 weeks to pick ourselves up. If we can make the super 8, this year can still be a success for roscommon.

Comic Book Guy

Still a massive sense of disappointment after Sunday. 90-91 since we did back to back provincial titles and this was an opportunity missed but ultimately can't argue with the result.

All the main points have already been said on here but one thing I would have liked to have seen was the earlier introduction of Cathal Cregg. Even introducing him into half forward line 10 mins earlier could have potentially swung the balance. As disappointing as the second half was I think if we got the next score after the penalty we might have seen it out.......

Addle

Great seeing Kildare have success after standing up to those in headquarters.
Followed Roscommon's earlier example?!

yabadabado

Addle wrote: »

Great seeing Kildare have success after standing up to those in headquarters.
Followed Roscommon's earlier example?!

No ,not really.

ProudDUB

I think they did. In fact, I remember saying that the initial paper statement from the Kildare Co Board lacked weight. The issue needed someon to speak out on camera, to really get peoples attention. And lo and behold, there was Cian O'Neill on the Six One News an hour later. Kevin McStay being as out spoken as he was, got results three weeks ago. Cian O'Neill can't but have paid attention to that.

yabadabado

Our game wasnt fixed,McStay was just getting it out there.
Don't forget our County Board came out a few days later and said they would fully back whatever the Connacht Council/CCC decided .
Kildare was a fair bit different,they really stood up and were counted.

theoneeyedman

ProudDUB wrote: »

I think they did. In fact, I remember saying that the initial paper statement from the Kildare Co Board lacked weight. The issue needed someon to speak out on camera, to really get peoples attention. And lo and behold, there was Cian O'Neill on the Six One News an hour later. Kevin McStay being as out spoken as he was, got results three weeks ago. Cian O'Neill can't but have paid attention to that.

Kildare Co board haven't a pot to pi55 in, they were bailed out by Croke Park a few years ago, and can't cause a stink or else they can whistle if they want any grants for development. Very convenient to wheel O'Neill front and centre

yabadabado

theoneeyedman wrote: »

Kildare Co board haven't a pot to pi55 in, they were bailed out by Croke Park a few years ago, and can't cause a stink or else they can whistle if they want any grants for development. Very convenient to wheel O'Neill front and centre

They already have the money for developing Newbridge afaik, starting next year.

Sounds very much like a dictatorship, call out the GAA and they will **** you over .Gane will die a death if **** like that continues.

miocicmma

It seems Roscommon are getting a lot of credit in the national media for being the leader is in this small county peoples rebellion against the GAA fat cats

Comic Book Guy

Any word on Cathal Compton's injury lads?