Roscommon U20s have plenty to work on after Mayo defeat

Mayo 1-15 Roscommon 0-13

By Kevin Egan

Rubber met road for the Roscommon U-20s in Castlebar last Wednesday night, and the car will be straight in for some modifications after Mayo powered past the Rossies, far more dominant than a five-point margin might suggest.

Thirteen Mayo wides over the course of the game, three shots dropped short, and three excellent saves from Roscommon goalkeeper Patrick Gaynor mitigated the damage, but in terms of possession and opportunities created, this was much closer to a double-scores game.

Add in how six of Roscommon’s 13 points came from three kicks while Mayo didn’t raise an orange flag at any stage, and it’s much harder to be optimistic about the Rossies’ chances of making an impact in a provincial championship that contains the two sides that contested the 2022 All-Ireland minor final.

“We were very happy with a lot of aspects of the game. It was sloppy at times but what I said to the lads before the game was that whether we won by five or lost by five, it’s still only round one of four games,” was how Roscommon manager Cian Smith reacted to the result.

“It’s back to square one now, get our recovery, review the game and get ready to play Sligo,” he continued.

Most of his encouragement would stem from the opening 20 minutes, when they were wind-assisted but still looked like a side with plenty of sharpness up front, even in the absence of key players like Brian Greene (injured) and Ryan Dowling (suspended).

Long-range efforts from play from Rory Carthy and John Curran helped Roscommon to establish an 0-8 to 0-4 lead, with Carthy also hoisting over a free from over 55 metres out. David Higgins made a strong impression in the middle with some fine catches in those early exchanges, while Cathal McKeon also put his name on the scoresheet.

But even though Roscommon built a lead, cracks were appearing. Gaynor made one fine save to deny Niall Hurley while Keelan Kelly also had to clear a ball off the line when Tom Lydon floated a pass to the far post and Josh Carey was able to get a touch on the ball ahead of the Roscommon keeper.

Moreover, the quality of delivery into the Mayo forward line was superb throughout, and in the lead up to half-time, Lydon took full advantage.

He fired over three points from play in quick succession as part of his first half tally of six, while team captain John McMonagle palmed in a goal, thanks to his ability to leap higher than Gaynor when competing for the rebound from a Josh Carey shot off the crossbar, establishing a 1-8 to 0-9 interval lead.

“It’s typical of the new game, it’s all about momentum. They got 1-4 in a row, a few mistakes from us didn’t help. The lads will learn and I’ve no doubt the lads will improve,” said Smith.

Roscommon started strongly after the interval, briefly drawing level through points from Higgins, Kelly and Curran, but they raised just one more flag for the last 25 minutes, in part due to some poorly chosen shots on their own part, but also due to being starved of ball up front, with Mayo cleaning up the middle third and setting up a series of opportunities of their own.

Next up for the group is a home tie against Sligo this evening (Wednesday) at 5.30pm in Dr Hyde Park, and Smith also said that a handful of players on the treatment list will be assessed closer to game time, team captain Niall Heneghan is likely to miss at least two or three weeks with a hamstring issue, which led to his withdrawal at half-time.

Player of the match: Tom Lydon certainly caught the eye in the first half with six points in that period, including three from play, but like the rest of the Mayo forward line, he had his misfires too. And given that Mayo’s dominance stemmed from their control at midfield and half-back, we’ll give the nod to wing-back Hugh O’Loughlin. It’s a measure of how Roscommon struggled that their only contender was goalkeeper Patrick Gaynor, with John McMonagle and Oliver Armstrong among the other front runners.

Scorers - Mayo: T Lydon 0-8 (5f); J MacMonagle 1-0; N Hurley 0-3; L Feeney, J Carey, O Cronin, D Beirne 0-1 each. Roscommon: R Carthy 0-5 (1 tp, 1 tpf); J Curran 0-3 (1 tp); C McKeon, B Murphy, D Higgins, K Kelly, R Kilcline 0-1 each.

Mayo: Conor Meaney; Aaron Coggins, Paul Gilmore, Eoin McGreal; Hugh O’Loughlin, John MacMonagle, Colm McHale; Oliver Armstrong, Seamus Howard; Cathal Keaveney, Luke Feeney, Oisín Cronin; Josh Carey, Niall Hurley, Tom Lydon. Subs: Dara Neary for Keaveney (41), Darragh Beirne for Carey (43), Colm Lynch for Feeney (51), Senan Guilfoyle for Hurley (56).

Roscommon: Patrick Gaynor; Keelan Kelly, Cillian Campbell, Eoin Collins; Daniel Hagney, Eoghan Carthy, Ruadhan Henry; David Higgins, Niall Heneghan; Brendan Murphy, Robert Heneghan, Cathal McKeon; John Curran, Rory Carthy, John McGuinness. Subs: Ruairí Kilcline for R Heneghan (half-time), Conor Kelly for Murphy (h-t), Liam Óg Coyle for Collins (45), Alan Conroy for Hagney (47).

Referee: Barry Judge (Sligo).