Search Results for 'Gary Cox'

I am confused as to the real potential of this Mayo team. I can’t honestly say how good this team is, as I doubt they have ever played an easier inter-county match in their lives, nor will they play an easier one ever again. I suggested here in this paper last week that I fully expected Roscommon to put it up to Mayo for 40 minutes or so but that ultimately Mayo’s greater fitness, ability, and general know how, would surface and they would pull away from Roscommon in the last 30 minutes possibly winning by 5/6 points. As you now know we won by 20! I had alluded to Roscommon’s morale-boosting victory over Leitrim a few weeks earlier that would have seen them arrive in Castlebar full of hope and brimming with confidence. I met a few of their supporters before the match in the Sportlann who had the audacity to suggest that they were in fact well capable of beating this particular Mayo team, and for me not to be one bit surprised if they pulled off a famous victory. Oh how wrong they were. This was arguably the worst performance from a senior Roscommon team in a championship encounter that I or many others have ever witnessed. Fergal O’Donnell, the messiah who had guided the county to their historic minor All Ireland victory in 2006, was in charge and their supporters were giddy with excitement and expectancy. Eleven of that minor squad were involved in one way or another last Saturday and they appeared to be relaxed and in confident mood as I watched them go through their paces in the warm up on the back pitch a half hour before the game.

Roscommon advanced to round three of the qualifiers with a victory over Wexford in Dr Hyde Park on Saturday, winning by three points in the end on a score line of 11 points to eight. Roscommon have the freetaking of Donie Shine to thank as he almost single-handedly booted them into the next round with a fabulous display of placekicking. Shine scored nine of Roscommon’s 11 points, eight of which came from placed balls. Roscommon manager Fergal O’Donnell will only know too well that if Roscommon are to progress further in this year’s championship, scoring three points from play will not be enough. Wexford had a number of chances and can blame some wayward shooting for their championship exit. They kicked 10 wides in the second half and if Meath’s forwards get the same amount of possession this weekend they will not be as wasteful.

After the pre-season warm up session on the far side of the Atlantic it’s back to more traditional fare, albeit on a Saturday evening for Mayo. And with McHale Park getting the go ahead, it’s all systems go for the welcoming of Roscommon to Castlebar for the first time in five years, and four years after the sides last met in the Connacht Championship.