Disappointed Ros manager upbeat about campaign as a whole
by Adrian Cusack Updated: Wednesday, 24th August, 2011 5:30pm
After Roscommon's minors exited the All Ireland championship on Sunday, team manager Ross Shannon said he was "upbeat" about a year in which his side claimed the Connacht title and a notable quarter final scalp against Armagh.
Yet there was no disguising his disappointment as he came out of the dressing room after seeing his players lose to Tipperary at the semi final stage.
"After losing it's very, very disappointing but I'm upbeat about the year we had. It went well and we won a Connacht title. We need to drive it on again now. Feeling the disappointment is part and parcel of football, really," he said.
He praised the "superb" support Roscommon received from fans who travelled in numbers to the big game, but said Michael Quinlivan's second half goal for Tipperary had been a "killer" blow.
"When we were coming back into the game the Roscommon support was absolutely superb. They really got behind us. But their goal probably was the killer point in the game because you're then chasing the game and emptying out your back line to try and go at them.
"In fairness to Tipperary they got a lot of men behind the ball, which takes a lot of work ethic, and they were hard to break down.
"We got one or two goal chances but they didn't happen, their keeper smothered (the chances), but that's part and parcel of the game. Even though they had a man sent off the deficit was too much at that stage."
When asked if nerves had affected Roscommon's performance, he said: "You have lads of sixteen or seventeen years old putting on the jersey for their county in Croke Park. They're naturally going to be nervous. They overcame their nerves but the deficit was too big. The mistakes happened and there is always going to be mistakes no matter what level of football it is."
He was left to ponder what might have been after Roscommon gained momentum during the second half and reduced the gap from seven points to two. Shannon said if the game could have been brought into extra time he would have been confident, "but in fairness Tipperary had their work done and they weren't going to allow it."
He wasn't surprised by how well Tipperary had performed on the day. "I was involved in 2006 and Tipperary had a good team even then. There's a lot of underage development happening in every county. Obviously Tipperary will move on now. There will be two teams in the final on September 18 and may the best team win," he said.
Tipperary's manager David Power said Roscommon had been difficult to overcome. "It was a tough game. We started very well for the first time all year, and I thought we would drive on and make it easier for ourselves but to be fair we knew that against Roscommon we would have a tough game. I'd say it was a good game of football to watch. It was tough, competitive and fair."
During the half time team-talk Power set three targets for his players: to win the throw-in, get the first score, and win the second half. "I don't know if we won the second half, I don't think we did, but two out of three isn't bad," he smiled. Power praised the quality of Roscommon's attack. "Donie Smith is a class forward... he is going to play for the Roscommon senior team, there's no doubt about that. He still had a good game today but it was a massive achievement for us to prevent Roscommon from scoring a goal," he said.
Tipperary will now face either Dublin or Galway in the final.
