Electric Ireland Connacht U-17 Football Final
Roscommon v Galway at Dr. Hyde Park on Friday at 7.30 pm
Coming home from Tuam after the first round of the Connacht U-17 football championship I was struggling to recall a Roscommon team on the end of such a hammering as was handed out that evening. I had seen this team in action several times in 2017 and I was shocked that they had surrendered so meekly on the night. How could a good team become a bad one in the space of a few months?
But the round-robin format ensured that Roscommon had a chance to recover, and recover they did. Now they will have a chance to prove that what happened in round one was just one of those things that happen in sport every now and then. One thing is for certain: it will be easy to give the team talk in the Roscommon dressing room on Friday night! Revenge is a dish best served cold!
The win against Mayo was Roscommon’s best performance since that aberration against Galway. Yes, there were big wins against Leitrim and Sligo but there were lapses of concentration during those games that are a worry as this big game comes up. If Roscommon do not play to their ability for the entire 60 minutes on Friday night then they will not be winning this Connacht title.
Galway have breezed through this Connacht campaign although they were tested by Mayo in Tuam a few weeks ago. They have some marvellous players like Conor Raftery, Ryan Monaghan, Cathal Sweeney and Oisin Gormley and they will come to Hyde Park in a confident mood especially after the drubbing they handed out to Roscommon a couple of months ago.
I like this Roscommon attack and the full-forward line in particular. Eoghan Derwin, Adam McDermott and James Fitzpatrick are clever, skilful players who are all able to score. Further out the field Shane Cunnane and Enda Crawley will have to get a grip on the midfield sector to provide ammunition for the forward division.
But Roscommon will need every player to be ready to give their all for the jersey on Friday night. The odds have to favour Galway, given the way they have played in this championship. Anything can happen at this level and if Roscommon can pull out a performance like the one we saw against Mayo then it could be a great night at Dr. Hyde Park.
The carrot is huge. The winners will face Clare in the All-Ireland quarter-final while the losers will have to play Kerry. It would be some story if Roscommon could turn a 22-point defeat into a Connacht title against the same opposition. You know something? I think that it’s entirely possible.
Prediction: Roscommon.
