'We can go all the way' says Ros' minor captain
After the epic, extra-time victory over Armagh in last Saturday's All-Ireland's MFC quarter-final, Roscommon supporters are harbouring hopes that the heroics of 2006 can be repeated.
Roscommon team captain John McManus - a son of Clann na nGael and Roscommon football legend Tony McManus - was overjoyed with the win. But, even though he agreed that Roscommon's are now genuine All-Ireland contenders, he warned that only a much-improved performance will do in the semi-finals.
"I'm on an awful high after that," McManus declared happily. "I can't wait to have a look over it when we're watching the video. At the end of the day we played fairly poorly. We came through strong in the end but we were poor at a lot of stages during the match and we'll definitely have to improve on a few things."
"But we can definitely go all the way. There's no point thinking we can't, we definitely can," he added.
In the All-Ireland semi-finals, Roscommon will face Tipperary in a novel pairing. That clash will take place in Croke Park on Sunday, August 21 (3.30pm), and it will be the curtain-raiser to the All-Ireland SFC semi-final between Kerry and Mayo. In the other semi-final, Leinster champions Dublin will take on Galway, who Roscommon convincingly defeated in the Connacht final. Roscommon's last All-Ireland minor success came in 2006, when Clann na nGael's David Flynn captained his team to victory over Kerry in a replay.
The belief in the Roscommon team is something team selector Brian Lennon says is crucial and a trait that helped the team over the line on Saturday.
"Character and never-say-die attitude don't just happen," the St. Brigid's clubman explained. "They're built up on the training ground over the last six months. We are a tight-knit family and John Comiskey and Damien Martin have done superb work on the strength and conditioning over the last six months. But now we need to keep that belief in them over the next three weeks and push on for the semi-final. We have the confidence."
Roscommon manager Ross Shannon pointed to the team's character as one of the main reasons for their amazing win.
"I have to say that was as tough as you'll get," said Shannon, still red-faced from the physical exertions of urging his team on, "but hopefully that will stand to us and we can move onto another level now. It was nip and tuck. Either team could have won it at the end and, as I said to the lads, games are won or lost in the last couple of minutes. It's not about winning it in the first minute and, in fairness to the boys, I have to give them credit and not only that, the subs coming off the bench. It's a 20-man game."
Roscommon made a sluggish start to the game, as they did in some of their other games this year, but Shannon and his players never panicked.
"We've been starting slowly and coming into it but we're trying to address that," he said. "It's part of the game but I'd rather play bad at the beginning of the game and well at the end of the game. That's where it's more important. The last five minutes of games, you don't give up. Teams get tired and the fitter team comes through in the end. But we got a bit of luck with the goal and you need a bit of luck during any game.
"I've a lot of work done with these lads," he continued. "They're a credit to work with. A big physical team like Armagh and we matched it with them, even though we ran into some areas that got us into trouble on the field. But you'd get that at inter-county senior level, never mind at minor. Minors are different, it's a different category. They're not men but they played like men today."
