Roscommon stun Mayo on remarkable weekend for the Connacht championship
KEY CONTRIBUTION: Enda Smith of Roscommon celebrates after scoring his side's first goal, from a penalty, during the Connacht GAA Football Senior Championship Quarter-Final match between Mayo and Roscommon. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
The new championship structure has slowly started to take shape in its own convoluted form of snakes and ladders.
In Castlebar, Mayo finished on a chute that would normally send them scuttling down the board. Instead, in 2023’s spanking new version, they merely move one step back.
All they lost on Sunday in material terms was the chance of a more favourable seeding position in the Sam Maguire round robin.
Kevin McStay’s men are now destined for a long layoff and to be a third seed. That is no insignificant thing. Finish third in the group and they face an away preliminary quarter-final to make the final eight.
It also means they will play the two top sides first, as the order of fixtures is pre-determined.
Before expanding on that, first let us focus on Roscommon’s remarkable triumph. What a win for Davy Burke, what a showing by Enda Smith, what a weekend for the Connacht championship.
In the 21st century, Roscommon have only beaten Mayo three times in championship. 2001, 2019 and Sunday. Some going.
Tommy Conroy and Ryan O’Donoghue started inside marked by David Murray and Brian Stack respectively. Despite playing with a stiff wind, Mayo took 25 minutes to hit their first score from play. A clever O’Donoghue handpass freed Paddy Durcan during a trademark burst forward. By that stage, they’d struck five wides and hit the crossbar with a blasted Stephen Coen goal chance.
Offer them crumbs and the MacHale Park diehards will still dine out. In the absence of scores to cheer they settled for an Aidan O’Shea block and rattled the roof with roars.
Roscommon responded with a howl of their own after Conor Loftus stumbled and bumped David Murray in the back. The penalty was a certainty and so was the result, a superb Enda Smith goal.
A damp affair suddenly had lift-off. O’Shea’s enthusiasm to regather a 45 ended in a dustup behind the goal. There were plenty of shapes thrown without any real rage. Is this what the provincial championships are about now?
Not exactly.
When Donie Smith half-volleyed home a blocked ball the tie suddenly had a whole new edge. Ciaran Lennon had cut along the endline before Jack Carney blocked his effort. It broke kindly to blow the Connacht championship wide open.
In truth it was more a shinner than a volley but the substantial travelling cohort among the 19,361 didn’t care. They celebrated buoyantly regardless.
At the turnaround it was 2-02 to 0-4. Four down and against the breeze, Mayo had to embrace the hard road and running game. This roadmap is new terrain for this regime and it showed. They drove headfirst up dead ends and blind alleys all afternoon long.
Points from Donnacha McHugh, Matthew Ruane and a lovely effort after a rapid stop start by Conroy gradually clawed them back. Reape then pulled a 45 wide and from the subsequent kickout, O’Shea intercepted and tapped over.
Always close, never close enough. Having notched a pair of frees, Murtagh timed his first from play perfectly and spun over a gorgeous long-range shot.
Roscommon rattled off three of the final four points with Smith capping a man of the match performance with a fisted point before the final whistle. When it sounded, their fans stormed the field and their manager danced out in front of them.
This bold new format has left many wondering who cares about the provincial championship? Roscommon certainly do.
Colm Reape 0-2 (1 free, 1 45), Ryan O’Donoghue 0-2 (2 frees), Paddy Durcan 0-1, Donnacha McHugh 0-1, Matthew Ruane 0-1, Tommy Conroy 0-1, Aidan O’Shea 0-1, Cillian O’Connor 0-1.
Diarmuid Murtagh 0-6 (4 frees), Enda Smith 1-1 (1 pen), Donie Smith 1-0, Conor Cox 0-1.
C Reape; J Coyne, S Coen, D McHugh; E McLaughlin, C Loftus, P Durcan; M Ruane, D O’Connor; F McDonagh, J Carney, J Flynn; A O’Shea, T Conroy, R O’Donoghue.
D McHale for McDonagh (51), C O’Connor for McHale (temp, 52-) J Doherty for McLaughlin, C McStay for Flynn (62), McHale for Ruane (70).
C Carroll; C Daly, B Stack, D Murray; C Hussey, N Daly, E McCormack; E Smith, K Doyle; C Murtagh, C Lennon, D Ruane; D Smith, D Murtagh, B O’Carroll.
C McKeon for Lennon (temp 52), Cox for D Smith (59), R Hughes for N Daly (66), N Kilroy for Ruane (70), C Connolly for O’Carroll (72), Black card: D Murtagh (72).
N Mooney (Cavan)
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