James Horan: ‘Roscommon destroyed Mayo in all aspects of the game’

DESTROYED: Roscommon's Dylan Ruane celebrates scoring a point, as Mayo players Matthew Ruane and Conor Loftus look on. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.

When the slide started, it happened suddenly.

For Mayo, a major disappointment will be their inability to respond in the final quarter, according to former manager James Horan.

Roscommon blitzed Mayo in the second half of the Connacht SFC semi-final to secure a spot in their first provincial decider in four years.

Speaking on the Irish Examiner’s Gaelic football show, Horan said the manner of Roscommon’s second-half performance was outstanding.

“Their start to the second half in particular, was amazing. They maintained it for the entire half and absolutely destroyed Mayo in all aspects of the game. Physically, running power, aerial battle, the ground battle and then to boot, they had a fairly high level return on shots taken as well.

“Roscommon were absolutely brilliant in the second half. We can talk about Mayo being off, Mayo were off because they didn’t know what to do with the running power Roscommon brought. It wasn’t a good day.” Horan, who had two stints as Mayo senior manager, from 2010 to 2014 and 2018 to 2022, was surprised at how a good start was undone.

“The fight you would expect from Mayo at home in a championship game against Roscommon in a Connacht championship they really wanted to win, that fight, no matter what the score, there should be a fight and contest there that is just a given. It wasn’t near the level of intensity that you needed.

“But Mayo were three up at half-time. We have to remember that. The dominance of Roscommon, the amount of attacking in the second half and I’m not sure how it looked on TV, into the far goal and the far corner, Sam handpassed one over a guy's head and it went wide that side.

"A lot of that came from how Mayo were attacking. We were very one-sided. On a number of occasions, we had an awful lot of opportunities to cut in on our left foot and take the shot.”

Horan singled out Roscommon boss Mark Dowd for particular praise. Dowd was involved in the senior side’s Connacht success in 2010 and 2019. They will now take on Galway in Dr Hyde Park on May 10.

“Mark Dowd, there is a calmness about him. There is a reasonableness about him. There is an integrity. He has obviously tapped into what Roscommon are and what their football is about. What he has done in a year is phenomenal, really.

"They have come from different eternal managers and all that was with that to a guy who knows Roscommon. He knows the Roscommon way and has tapped into it.”