Connacht Final Sligo vs. Roscommon 4pm Sunday

gally74

Well,

Time for this thread,

Roscommon very quiet,

Sligo likewise, Should be a good game,

mink_man

sligo by 4 or 5 points...

SomeFool

Hopefully it will be a good game, think the Rossies might pull off a suprise win.

Diabhal Beag

Can't see Roscommon winning. Hope they don't get destroyed by Sligo.

Comic Book Guy

As a Rossie I'm very pessimistic about our chances. Sligo were very impressive in their win over Galway. Cant see our lads dealing with the pace of their support play and the sheer physicality of their tackling.

I don't see where the scores are going to come from upfront. Shine will tip over 5 or 6 points from frees but apart from an in form Cregg i dont see a go to guy up front.

Hope I'm wrong but reckon its Sligo by 5-7 points

gally74

Let's hope it's better than the Leinster final, I always think finals are 50:50

newballsplease

these 2 teams played in the league, and Sligo won comfortably. I know, championship is different, but for Sligo to beat Mayo and Galway in a replay... i cant see them throwing this one away. Sligo by 5points I think. D.Kelly to run rings around their corner backs!

thirdmantackle

most of the Rocommon players have met Sligo in the minor and U-21 championships over the past few years and never lost.
Sligo beat Roscommon in the league, but Roscommon were preparing for a Connacht U-21 gae and so were missing Shine and others who were on th U21 team.

that being said, cannot see anything else except a win for Sligo by 3/4 points.

dartbhoy

After 2 controversial finals so far Football fans could do with a decent game of football and I'm sure these 2 counties will provide us with a good Connacht final. While Sligo are hot favourites to win and rightly so I reckon Roscommon will be up for this one and will battle hard for 50 minutes or so but they'll eventually run out of steam,Sligo to win by 5 or 6 points.

oneillMan999

I think Sligo shud win this as long as they dont dismiss their opponents and think it will be a walkover.

Ive a sneaky feeling this might end a draw tho..

rossie1977

so strange to see sligo going into a connaught final as red hot favourites

if roscommon need any encouragement they only need watch the performances of louth and limerick last two weekends

having said that this is a very poor lightweight roscommon team, sligo look stronger in every position, if sligo stop cathal cregg getting a fair share of ball then they will win comfortably imo

unknown13

Sligo will win this but Connacht isn't great this year. Sligo aren't that great of a side but will be able to beat Roscommon by a few points.

Fandango

unknown13 wrote: »

Sligo will win this but Connacht isn't great this year. Sligo aren't that great of a side but will be able to beat Roscommon by a few points.

I dunno, i think Sligo are solid enough this year. Wont be backing them for Sam or anything but from what ive seen they play damn well together. Rekon Sligo by 3-4 points but could be more.

megadodge

I'm an optimistic and positive person by nature (which is unusual in Roscommon) but even I can't see Ros winning this.

There won't be any lack of honest effort but unfortunately they're just not good enough.

The rumours are that Seamie O'Neill is back on the panel (why was he dropped in the first place) and that's a good thing because our midfield is weak but I still can't see him making enough of a difference (and he's almost certainly not going to start) to make up for an iffy half-back line (Casey was good the last day, but can his knee hold up) and an underperforming forward line.

Cregg, for all his talent, really has to be more consistent and O'Gara should be the starting centre-forward for the next ten years (barring injury), but seems to have run out of favour with Fergie. Heneghan needs to keep performing like the first half v Leitrim, but it's hard to see him getting any change out of either Sligo corner back. The Sligo fullback is only middling so maybe there's a chance for Donie to shine from play, but I think a smaller faster player is the sort to exploit that weakness.

The battle between the brilliant David Kelly and (probably) Seanie McDermott is going to be very interesting. Seanie is one of the best 'footballing' corner backs out there, but wouldn't be the sort of 'man-marking' player needed to keep tabs on Kelly. I expect Seanie to be on the ball bursting out of defence fairly regularly but still concede a lot of possesion to Kelly which means trouble for Ros. Happy enough with Domnican and Ormsby as long as neither end up on Kelly.

Anyway, Sligo's better quality and very impressive teamwork and organisation should win a hard fought match by 4-5 points.

Lando Griffin

Is O Hara still playing after administrating 20 odd stitches to Concannon?

Roscommon to steel this one from Sligo, the sad passing of their former ledgend Dermot Earley being their motovation.

If the Rossies play into the wind in the first half O'Hara can only last around 55 mins giving them a bit of advantage there.

gally74

Bit of a sad comment , he got no stocked, let's try to leave this thread to football

Lando Griffin

gally74 wrote: »

Bit of a sad comment , he got no stocked, let's try to leave this thread to football

Just wondering which comment is sad exactly?

rossie1977

yes o'hara is free to play

on mcdermott, don't rate him at all, liability imo and will be caught out time and time again on sunday

megadodge

rossie1977 wrote: »

yes o'hara is free to play

on mcdermott, don't rate him at all, liability imo and will be caught out time and time again on sunday

I find that an amazing comment.

A liability ?

Seanie McDermott ?

I think he's an excellent footballer but do think he'd be better suited to wing-back as he has too much football in him to waste at corner back.

He's really up against it in Kelly though, a player that I've yet to see being marked out of a game.

Shane10

i cant see sligo not winning this game easliy enough. they have to many scoring forwards now and kelly is on fire. costello, marren, mcgee, brehony all scoring freely. good solid midfield and add in o'hara's presence and you should come up with a sligo win. roscommon wont be able to hold them i think.

rossie1977

roscommon unchanged for final

starting 15
Geoffrey Claffey, Sean McDermott, Peter Domican (cpt), Stephen Ormsby, Sean Purcell, Cathal Dineen, David Casey, Michael Finneran, Karol Mannion, David Keenan, Paul Garvey, Cathal Cregg, John Rogers, Donal Shine, Ger Heneghan.

interesting i thought garvey would drop out, he didn't have a good game last time out

half forward and half back line look weak

Joyce Country

Galwayman in westport for the weekend so was thinking of dropping in catching this in castlebar sunday with a couple of the lads.

Anyone know what the ticket prices will be? I assume there will be no bother paying in at the ground? Hopefully my 1 year or so expired student card continues to be accepted as well by the Connacht Council:)

megadodge

Rossie1977 I agree with you on that one.

Garvey has had a very poor year overall and was bad again against Leitrim.

I know Fergie has a high regard for him (and so did I until this year) but there's loyalty and there's foolishness. O'Gara should be in there full stop.

rossie1977

Joyce Country wrote: »

Anyone know what the ticket prices will be? I assume there will be no bother paying in at the ground? Hopefully my 1 year or so expired student card continues to be accepted as well by the Connacht Council:)

35 for the covered stand and 25 everywhere else, not sure on how much you get back with the student card though, its either 10 or 15

i would imagine tickets will be available on the day no problem, i see a crowd of maybe 20k, 25k tops

brianthebard

Looking forward to this game but also anxious. I think Roscommon had the easy route to the final and Sligo will be much more ready and mentally and physically toughened after the Galway games. However I don't think it suits Sligo to be favourites, they should have done much better against Galway in the first game after Galway had a man sent off, I've always felt that Sligo don't really know what to do when they are winning to secure it. Hoping they will win though, we've a very strong squad this year.

yop

can only see a Sligo win in this one, but haven't seen a thing really of Ros so them been outsiders with no pressure who knows.
That AI minor team will be coming through soon so you never know.

Sligo by 5

Coogee

Sligo by a few points

Strongbow10

despite what everyone says, this is not a bad Ros team, young and very inexperienced yes (prob the youngest in the whole country) but I think the fact we are not playing Mayo or Galway is a big psychological plus for these young Ros players. And I don't mean any disrespect to Sligo there, but Roscommon have been probably beaten in the dressing room before senior championship games against Mayo in Galway in the last few years.

The players probably have a belief they can win Sunday.

There are some good young players in this Ros team who will be around for a good few years with more on the way.

DH2K9

What do you think the attendance will be. Capacity is 38,000 I reckon 20,000 max.

T runner

Strongbow10 wrote: »

despite what everyone says, this is not a bad Ros team, young and very inexperienced yes (prob the youngest in the whole country) but I think the fact we are not playing Mayo or Galway is a big psychological plus for these young Ros players. And I don't mean any disrespect to Sligo there, but Roscommon have been probably beaten in the dressing room before senior championship games against Mayo in Galway in the last few years.

The players probably have a belief they can win Sunday.

There are some good young players in this Ros team who will be around for a good few years with more on the way.

I agree with you here. I think Ros will believe a one off big performance against Sligo might win them teh title and they have no psychological baggage there. Rossies will have worked out Sligos record in McHale rivals even their own.

If Sligo play even slightly below par and Roscommon play well I can see an upset.

Ros might need an early goal to get them going and to unsettle Sligo though.

It will be drilled into Sligo not to be complacent. Im trying not to be as a supporter...... but sometimes I find myself hoping and wondering about a quarter final in Croker. If the odd quarter final daydream has crossed a few Sligo lads minds and things start to go wrong early, they might get that bad feeling...and give off the scent of blood to the Rossies.

saywhatyousee

DH2K9 wrote: »

What do you think the attendance will be. Capacity is 38,000 I reckon 20,000 max.

9000 tickets sold in sligo already id say between 18-24k

megadodge

DH2K9 wrote: »

What do you think the attendance will be. Capacity is 38,000 I reckon 20,000 max.

I know McHale Park has been done up, but are you sure it can hold 38,000?

Maybe 28,000?

rossie1977

megadodge wrote: »

I know McHale Park has been done up, but are you sure it can hold 38,000?

Maybe 28,000?

there are lots of number flying around for current capacity, i have been to numerous matches in the old mchale where it was full or very close to full, in 2006 the year we won the connaught minor there they announced the attendance at the match to be a few hundred over 32,000 so capacity back then was about 34k, its more today what with the new stand

aidan24326

gally74 wrote: »

Let's hope it's better than the Leinster final, I always think finals are 50:50

??? The Leinster final was a great game, dodgy goals notwithstanding.


For all that Sligo have had a couple of great results they are probably being talked up too much now. They beat a lifeless Mayo team that gave their worst championship performance in years, and were fortunate enough to beat Galway the second evening. I thought Galway were the better team that night and threw the game away. Sligo will win on Sunday quite simply because they're playing a poor Roscommon team. No, make that a really bad Roscommon team.

Those negatives aside, I do think Sligo have made great progress under Kevin Walsh and he really seems to be getting the best out of them, which is all you can ask of any manager. They play with a real gung-ho attitude that makes them good to watch, and for all that I've been talking them down they do have some excellent players. Kelly is probably the best corner forward in the country right now, and the likes of Harrison, Brehony and Costelloe have also been top class. I see Sligo winning this by about 4 points, but the real acid test will be a quarter final against significantly better opposition. That will tell them how far they've really come.

lippy88

As paul the octopus has told me recently....Sligo will win this game by 7 or 8 points!!dont tink the rossies ave any talent to stop the sligo front line!! Anybody know the sligo lineout or will it remain the same as the semi??
GOOON THE ALL BLACKS!!

For Forks Sake

DH2K9 wrote: »

What do you think the attendance will be. Capacity is 38,000 I reckon 20,000 max.

10.5k tickets sold in Sligo already apparently.

lippy88

For Forks Sake wrote: »

10.5k tickets sold in Sligo already apparently.

I heard its more close to the 16k mark!!

DH2K9

megadodge wrote: »

I know McHale Park has been done up, but are you sure it can hold 38,000?

Maybe 28,000?

Actually the capacity is 42,000 because off all the construction work. This stadium is the first proper stadium built by the GAA after Croker and possibly Thurles.

rossie1977

DH2K9 wrote: »

Actually the capacity is 42,000 because off all the construction work. This stadium is the first proper stadium built by the GAA after Croker and possibly Thurles.

they built a new all-seater stand, i was there last year and the thing doesn't even go the full-length of the field unlike salthill

thirdmantackle

DH2K9 wrote: »

Actually the capacity is 42,000 because off all the construction work. This stadium is the first proper stadium built by the GAA after Croker and possibly Thurles.

thats bull

Parc Uí Chaoimh was built in the 70's
Dr Hyde Park was built in the 90's

McHale park was built on a FAS scheme until recently with all that brutal concrete seating

and anyway, Castlebar is a nightmare to get in and out of on match days.

Dools2007

Lads,

To be perfectly honest (and this is not an attack on the posters), I would rather talk about the match on Sunday than the capacity of the stand.

At the end of the day, big crowd or not, it is not going to be full (maybe close, but not full)

Anyway, looking forward to this game on Sunday and although it is a little strange to be going into a Connacht final as favourites, I am sure that Kevin Walsh will have kept the lads focused on the game.
We beat Roscommon by 7 points earlier on in the year in the league but they did not play any of their U-21's that day as they were preparing for an All-Ireland semi (having beat us the previous week in the Connacht final) and also, they were already relegated and had nothing to play for whereas we knew a good win put us in with a great shout of a place in the final so this game will be discounted by any of the Sligo fans.

At the end of the day, it is 15 v 15 come Sunday and while I feel confident going into the game that we have enough talent (both on the field and on the bench) to beat Roscommon, if our lads don't go into this game in the right frame of mind, Roscommon could do one over on us.

I reckon Kelly to have another great game in the corner and hopefully Mark Breheny can carry forward the form from the last game.

May the best team win on Sunday.

Sligeach Abu.........

Limerick91

Good post Dools
Both sets of supporters should forget about the league game. It will have no relevance to Sunday's result.
Roscommon have no fear of Sligo so it will really come down to the performance on the day.
For Roscommon to win we would need an early goal and Sligo not to play to their potential.
Looking forward to the likely match ups of Kelly & Seanie Mac and O'Hara & Casey

Joyce Country

Whats the story with Seamie 'SHAQ' O'Neill lads?

Injured? Retired? Dropped?

serious midfielder anytime i saw him a few years ago

lippy88

The Sligo team announced this morning for the Connaght Final is: 1. Philip Greene, 2.Charlie Harrison, 3.Noel McGuire, 4.Ross Donavan, 5.Keelan Cawley, 6.Brendan Phillips, 7.Johnny Davey 8.Tony Taylor, 9.Stephen Gilmartin, 10.Alan Costello, 11.Mark Breheny, 12.Eamonn O’Hara 13.Colm McGee, 14.Adrian Marren, 15.David Kelly

Paths to the final

Sligo 0-15 Mayo 1-8
Sligo 1-10 Galway 1-10
Sligo 1-14 Galway 0-16 (replay)
Sligo scorers: D Kelly 2-8, C McGee 0-9 (0-6 frees), M Breheny 0-8 (0-5 frees),
A Costello 0-4, A Marren 0-3 (0-1 free), T Taylor 0-2, K Cawley 0-2, S Gilmartin
0-1, J Davey 0-1, K Sweeney 0-1.


Roscommon 0-14 London 0-6
Roscommon 1-13 Leitrim 0-11
Roscommon scorers: D Shine 1-16 (0-14 frees), G Heneghan 0-3, K Mannion
0-2, C Cregg 0-2, C Dineen 0-1, J Dunning 0-1, D Casey 0-1, J Rogers 0-1.

lippy88

lippy88 wrote: »

The Sligo team announced this morning for the Connaght Final is: 1. Philip Greene, 2.Charlie Harrison, 3.Noel McGuire, 4.Ross Donavan, 5.Keelan Cawley, 6.Brendan Phillips, 7.Johnny Davey 8.Tony Taylor, 9.Stephen Gilmartin, 10.Alan Costello, 11.Mark Breheny, 12.Eamonn O’Hara 13.Colm McGee, 14.Adrian Marren, 15.David Kelly

Paths to the final

Sligo 0-15 Mayo 1-8
Sligo 1-10 Galway 1-10
Sligo 1-14 Galway 0-16 (replay)
Sligo scorers: D Kelly 2-8, C McGee 0-9 (0-6 frees), M Breheny 0-8 (0-5 frees),
A Costello 0-4, A Marren 0-3 (0-1 free), T Taylor 0-2, K Cawley 0-2, S Gilmartin
0-1, J Davey 0-1, K Sweeney 0-1.


Roscommon 0-14 London 0-6
Roscommon 1-13 Leitrim 0-11
Roscommon scorers: D Shine 1-16 (0-14 frees), G Heneghan 0-3, K Mannion
0-2, C Cregg 0-2, C Dineen 0-1, J Dunning 0-1, D Casey 0-1, J Rogers 0-1.

Shine is their only man we need to worry about!! Other than that Roscommon will be blown over be the sheer presence of the sligo lads!:) !!!!!!0-14 from frees!!!!

rossie1977

Joyce Country wrote: »

Whats the story with Seamie 'SHAQ' O'Neill lads?

Injured? Retired? Dropped?

serious midfielder anytime i saw him a few years ago

he is playing away at club level, still only 28, surprised he is not on the bench at least. its not like roscommon have an amazing midfield, mannion is a full-forward playing there because of how rubbish everyone else is, finneran is a waste of space

another one is sean kilbride, roscommon could really do with him on the field, always good for 4 or 5 points from play

tubbercurry my old friend

lippy88 wrote: »

I heard its more close to the 16k mark!!

I heard it was 75k!!

Who cares cmon Sligo by 7 points:)

Anyone think of any good bars in dublin to watch it?

Sir Vival

Joyce Country wrote: »

Whats the story with Seamie 'SHAQ' O'Neill lads?

Injured? Retired? Dropped?

serious midfielder anytime i saw him a few years ago

O'neill declared himself "unavailable" for selection at the start of the year due to work commitments. I think he is still plagued with injuries aswell, last year he had to take 5 months off due to an achiles tendon problem.

He was good a few years ago and even though he is only 28 or so he has a lot of miles on the clock and probably wouldn't be up to intercounty standard. However as roscommon's midfield options are so weak (probably one of the worst 3 midfield pairings in gaa at the moment) he may be worth a gamble.

UrbanSea

Was chatting to Mark Breheny there last week,and believe me they aren't taking Roscommon to be walk overs. Hopefully Sligo will win it,which they deserve to,having beaten Galway and Mayo.

gally74

sligeach abu,

this team really deserves this one, the hard way Gal and mayo and some excellent football,

supermilk1

Theres not too many defending the rossies, so I will! CMON THE BOYS IN PRIMROSE AND BLUE!! Sligo are good,but no world beaters.They are organised and Walsh has them playing to their strengths.And theres no doubt about it we will have to play the best we have all season if we are to win.But........ if complacency is an issue with some Sligo players they could be in for a real shock.We have notting to lose and certainly do not fear Sligo.Its not like playing Mayo or Galway in recent years.Saying that they are a shadow of the teams they once were.Should be closer than people think...........We are waiting in the long grass! CMON ON THE ROS!!