Rossies reach new level
Last year’s Connacht title established a baseline in terms of championship performance, and the clinical demolition of Leitrim yesterday illustrated that the team has moved onto a new level.
Not that beating a poor Leitrim side proves a whole pile, rather it was the way in which Roscommon are continuing to play to their strengths. They never allowed Leitrim a suggestion of a foothold.
It is not difficult to deconstruct what this Roscommon team has. Tactically, they are easy to suss out: but of the three teams left in this year’s Connacht championship race, they are the most cohesive and settled outfit, and that could prove decisive.
In Donie Shine and Senan Kilbride, they have ball-winning, scoring forwards. Thus Roscommon’s game is built around moving the ball quickly to those two.
A wing-forward of Cathal Cregg’s ability could present a great deal of attacking threat, but, instead, he uses his athleticism and ball-carrying qualities to dissuade the opposing team from playing, and to create openings for the two inside.
The other motif that defines Roscommon is their workrate. You’ll always notice the difference between a team bluffing about workrate, and one that actually subscribes to it.
Yesterday, Roscommon choked the life out of Leitrim. They hunted them down and gave them limited space. Players genuinely went the extra metaphorical yard to close down an opponent.
O’Donnell has quietly built a team of substance. They are covering all of the bases, and, even if they fall short further down the line, as we expect they will, they know they are making the most out of what they have, and that’s all any team can do.
Their graph is upward, and another plateau will be reached if they add a second Connacht title this year.
The worry for O’Donnell now is that the steady hand they displayed yesterday means they will be strongly fancied in the Connacht final. They took Sligo — and the country — by surprise last year, but their Connacht final opponents, Mayo or Galway, will be forewarned this time.
Establishing a baseline has eluded Louth, however, even though, unlike Roscommon, they won their Croke Park NFL final.
Having a sitting TD as inter-county manager is incompatible with the reality of inter-county football. Peter Fitzpatrick moved into a new era in his life when he won his seat in Dáil Eireann. How often have we heard that inter-county manager is a full-time job? Being a TD is another round-the-clock commitment.
Between funerals, Dáil sittings, fundraising functions, public meetings, agricultural shows, festivals, bailouts, local Come Dine With Me and the other 1,000 items we expect of our TDs, it is a wonder Fitzpatrick had time to attend a match, let alone a training session.
Plus TDs, by the nature, court public popularity. They try to be everyone’s friend. Needs must.
The day you plan for the next election is the day of the count. In contrast, a county manager must take difficult decisions that have the potential to alienate people, clubs and communities. Thus, a manager must focus on the job at hand.
We don’t blame Fitzpatrick for trying his hand in politics: more power to him. He seems like a good fellow who has a genuine concern for others.
But we believe he should have stepped down from the football manager’s job the day he was elected. He’ll almost certainly when this championship ends. In going, he will likely cite his political commitments: the day to go was the day he was raised to the rafters in the count centre.
