Midfield battle key to winning replay

NEXT Saturday’s replay between Sligo and Roscommon will be decided in the old-fashioned Gaelic football way — with the more dominant midfield emerging from the battle.

The tussle between Eamon O’Hara and Seamus O’Neill enlivened proceedings in the Hyde on Sunday, and Dessie Sloyan reckons it will do so again in Markievicz.

“It will be the key area,” Sloyan agrees. “It was key to the drawn game. Roscommon dominated us in every sector of the field in the first-half and that came from O’Neill. It wasn’t until Eamon moved in there that we settled a bit and played our own game.”

Sloyan knows that more than most. Sligo’s lethal forward was like a little boy lost in phases of the first-half, foraging around the half-forward line for scraps. Even when they were found, the full-forward line was absent, as Gerry McGowan and Micheal McNamara did the same.

So Saturday evening will be about negating O’Neill from the off.

“He is a class player, he showed what he can do in the first-half,” Sloyan said.

“If O’Neill plays well, Roscommon play well and if O’Hara plays well, Sligo play well. The game will probably be decided in midfield.”

O’Hara has an edge on O’Neill, not only in athleticism but also experience. O’Neill’s flying fist towards O’Hara after the final whistle and his blatant dive to get O’Hara booked (which succeeded) show the youngster still has unsavoury elements in his game that need to be purged.

However, his fielding ability harks back to a more innocent age, when midfield wasn’t a spoiled area.

O’Neill retrieved kick-out after kick-out in the first-half and in his corner, Sloyan noticed its effect it had. Starved of supply, Sligo forwards floundered.

“That was another problem with our game. When we did get on top in midfield, we still weren’t getting the ball up front quick enough. That has to do with our game, with its running and short-passing, but Roscommon forwards were getting more effective ball,” the corner-forward said.

However, while both teams have plenty of room for improvement, the consensus is that Sligo will benefit most from the break.

“We have more areas to improve. If Roscommon were shooting well on Sunday, they would have won. They will just have to look at improving shooting while we have to look at a lot of areas around the field.

“We were disgusted with our first- half performance. We improved in the second-half, the lads worked harder but there is room for improvement.”

And Sloyan reminds anyone who makes Sligo favourites for Saturday’s shindig that the Yeats county’s replay record isn’t the most enviable.

“Home advantage doesn’t mean much. We haven’t a great record in replays. In 1998, Sligo went down to the Hyde, got a draw and then Roscommon beat us in the replay at Markievicz.”

Instead, the game hinges on two of the more accomplished midfielders in the country, one in his prime, the other only now alerting the country to his potential.