Roscommon master Mayo to continue remarkable record

Roscommon 2-8 Mayo 0-10

Roscommon claimed a famous victory over Mayo in their Connacht SFC quarter-final in Castlebar yesterday (Easter Sunday).

Now under former Roscommon manager Kevin McStay, Mayo went into the game as Allianz Football League Division 1 champions and they had defeated the Rossies during their successful league campaign.

However, a fired-up Roscommon team never let Mayo get into any sort of rhythm as they secured a four-point win at Hastings MacHale Park.

The victory continued a remarkable record for Roscommon who had knocked Mayo out of the Connacht championship on each of the previous three occasions that their rivals had been crowned league champions. The last time it happened was in 2019 when the Rossies also triumphed in Castlebar.

Enda Smith was selected as the official man of the match during RTE's live coverage of the match, while Diarmuid Murtagh's contribution of six points was also crucial.

And Davy Burke's charges will now meet Galway in their Connacht semi-final on Sunday, April 23.

The first half was a truly dreadful spectacle even allowing for the difficult weather conditions. Despite playing with the strong wind, Mayo only managed four points in that opening half - three frees (two from goalkeeper Colm Reape) and a point from play by wing-back Paddy Durcan.

Roscommon's tactics were all about containment for the majority of the first half as they engaged in several bouts of 'keep ball', but they were fortunate that Mayo were wasteful with chances of goals and points. On eight minutes, Stephen Coen crashed a shot off the crossbar and out to safety, much to Roscommon's relief.

Later in the half, the Rossies pounced for two goals. The first came in the 25th minute from the penalty spot after David Murray was adjudged to have been fouled by Conor Loftus as he tried to win possession on the follow-up from Dylan Ruane's blocked goal attempt. Enda Smith confidently stroked the ball to the net beyond Reape.

Donie Smith scored a second goal for the visitors shortly before the break, finishing first time past Reape after Ciarán Lennon's initial shot had been blocked by Jack Carney. That set Roscommon up for a half-time lead of 2-2 to 0-4.

Mayo were on top for a spell in the second half, outscoring their opponents by four points to one to leave the minimum in it with about 20 minutes left to play. Donnacha McHugh, Matthew Ruane, Tommy Conroy and Aidan O'Shea all found the target, with a free by Diarmuid Murtagh Roscommon’s only reply.

But Roscommon kept Mayo at bay with vital scores from Murtagh, Enda Smith and substitute Conor Cox. Even a black card for Murtagh late on - reducing Roscommon to 14 men - couldn't halt their march to victory.

While Roscommon’s win was a surprise, it was after all a meeting of two Division 1 teams and the biggest shock of the weekend was undoubtedly New York defeating Leitrim - it was New York's first championship win at the 23rd attempt.

Scorers - Roscommon: D Murtagh 0-6 (4fs); E Smith 1-1 (1-0pen); D Smith 1-0; C Cox 0-1. Mayo: C Reape (2fs) and R O’Donoghue (2fs) 0-2 each; P Durcan, D McHugh, M Ruane, T Conroy, A O’Shea and C O’Connor 0-1 each.

Roscommon: Conor Carroll; Conor Hussey, Conor Daly, David Murray; Niall Daly, Brian Stack, Eoin McCormack; Dylan Ruane, Keith Doyle; Ciaran Murtagh, Ciaran Lennon, Enda Smith; Donie Smith, Diarmuid Murtagh, Ben O’Carroll. Subs: Cian McKeon for Lennon (53 mins), Conor Cox for Donie Smith (60), Richard Hughes for Daly (66), Niall Kilroy for Ruane (70), Cian Connolly for O’Carroll (70).

Mayo: Colm Reape; Jack Coyne, Eoghan McLaughlin, Donnacha McHugh; Stephen Coen, Conor Loftus, Paddy Durcan; Matthew Ruane, Diarmuid O’Connor; Fionn McDonagh, Jack Carney, Jordan Flynn; Aidan O’Shea, Tommy Conroy, Ryan O’Donoghue. Subs: Darren McHale for McDonagh (51 mins), Cillian O’Connor for McHale (53), Jason Doherty for Eoghan McLaughlin (61), Conor McStay for Flynn (61), Darren McHale for Ruane (70).

Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan).