Rossies can’t argue having relied completely on Shine

IT has been a miserable week for Roscommon.

The accident and emergency department in the county hospital was downgraded last week and their senior footballers lost a Connacht final yesterday that they had a genuine chance of winning.

However when a team only scores two points in the second-half of a provincial final and is almost completely dependent on one forward (Donie Shine) for scores, they cannot expect to advance.

This game was in the balance until the final few moments and had Shine goaled on 50 minutes they would have gone four points to the good. That missed goal chance was a critical moment in the tie.

Roscommon probably left what would have been only their fifth provincial title since 1980 behind them in the first-half. They needed to have been further ahead at the interval as they had played with the elements.

And the conditions at Hyde Park yesterday were horrible with a mixture of strong wind and driving rain.

Roscommon needed more in the tank than a four point lead (0-9 to 0-5) as they entered the dressing room.

They also shot six wides in that first-half and they were to prove costly.

As Mayo proved against Galway in the semi-final they are well capable of coming from behind and they outscored Fergal O’ Donnell’s charges 0-8 to 0-2 in the second-half.

The Mayo defence, particularly Keith Higgins, Richie Feeney (who was outstanding) and Trevor Mortimer deserve much credit for how they cleared their lines, with Higgins particularly prominent in the first-half.

Roscommon lost because of their inability to get enough quality ball into Shine in both halves. He shot eight points and had Alan Feeney in all sorts of trouble until he was eventually replaced by Ger Cafferkey. With Senan Kilbride having an off day, they lacked a spread of scorers and were always going to struggle to hit a match winning total, particularly with Ballintubber youngster Cillian O’Connor in great form from frees for Mayo.

O’Connor was a county minor last season and he picked a significant day to announce himself on the national stage with eight impressive points from placed balls. He did little from play but James Horan will be very pleased to have found a reliable place kicker after his experiences in London (when he used 7 different players) and against Galway.

When you are a manager in your debut season, you don’t really care how you win a provincial title, once you manage it.

This was an ugly game with many unforced errors, and Mayo will have to improve to go further. If they get any of the big guns in the quarter-final it is difficult to see them jumping that fence. In fact no Connacht provincial winner has won a last eight clash since 2006.

Mayo rightly won yesterday and looked the stronger team in the closing minutes and will gain a huge amount of confidence from victory. They have come a long way from almost being beaten by London in the first round.

Horan is improving as a manager every day and he used his subs very wisely. Plus, he had a far stronger bench than Fergal O’ Donnell had at his disposal. The men he brought in were crucial to turning the tie.

Ronan McGarrity steadied things around the middle and both Enda Varley and wily campaigner Peadar Gardiner hit great scores, while Cafferkey did well to nullify Shine’s influence.

None of Roscommon’s five subs made any real impact and that was a major negative for their chances. Another blow was that Karol Mannion and Michael Finneran — who had done very well in the first-half seemed to run out of steam in the final quarter. Mannion has been a tremendous servant to his county and St. Brigid’s and seemed to be blowing very hard so it seemed strange that he wasn’t thrown into the full-forward line for 10 minutes in a direct swap with Kilbride.

No more than Sligo last year, this defeat could see Roscommon’s championship season unravelling quickly.

They face the winners of Tyrone and Armagh in the next round and even their manager doesn’t fancy their chances.

Mayo are a work in progress and if they get the right draw, they can get to the last four. However based on what I have seen of them in their last two outings they would not be able for the best teams who will advance from the qualifiers.

The likes of Kildare, Cork, Down or Wexford would fancy their chances against the Connacht champions.

And rightly so based on our dismal record in Croke Park in the past five years.