Nugent and Dunning savour Connacht glory as Tyrone await

By Kevin Egan

Just a few short weeks ago, it was the championship that anyone could win. Four rounds into the 2024 Connacht U-20 football championship Roscommon had played three games, scoring just 1-28 and conceding just 3-22 in those three draws against Mayo, Sligo and Galway. And like every other county in the province, they were in the mix for glory, but no more than that.

Fast forward to last Saturday and for the second game in succession, the Rossies racked up three goals and looked like a slick, cohesive and talented unit in doing so.

The final against Galway was a microcosm of this. In the mix at half-time but with a lot of work to do, and by the end, the undisputed kingpins.

“It was unbelievable,” said team captain Bobby Nugent.

“We started off very well, went four up and Galway came back at us. We were in a right battle at half-time so we needed a big second-half performance.

“We were very calm at half-time. We’ve come from behind in a lot of our games this year. We went back to basics, knew what we had to do and executed that in the second half,” continued the St Brigid's player.

Nugent went on to pay tribute to the substitutes, particularly Ethan O’Reilly and Ryan Dowling for their contribution.

Unsurprisingly, Roscommon manager Noel Dunning also spoke highly of those players who came in to see the task to completion. Experienced reporters will know that every manager loves the chance to talk up the players outside the first 15 and Dunning is no different, but he backs up those words with his approach, and it has served the group incredibly well.

In every game this year, including the three draws, he has gone to his bench early and often, and in every game, Roscommon finished with momentum.

Even in his short time on the field, Oisín O’Flaherty of Clann na nGael was also a significant addition to the group, coming up trumps in particular when he spoiled an injury time kickout that looked destined to set up yet another Galway attack.

“Ethan did very well for us when he came on, he battened down the hatches a bit when we were losing our way a little. He brought that bit of security and he gave us that drive going forward as well” said Dunning.

“But look it’s no coincidence that we’re getting that impact from the bench, we’ve gotten it in every game so far and there was no reason that it would be any way different at all today. They know that if they get the opportunity or we need them, they’ll be put in there to give the impact we want and that was what brought us over the line at the end there,” continued the St Aidan’s club man.

In terms of matchups, Dunning and his selectors will also feel very happy with their evening’s work. Colm Costello was the talisman and top scorer from play in the Galway attack but Eden Kerins had plenty of good moments on him and broke even overall, as did Senan Lambe against Galway captain Matthew Thompson.

However the big danger for Roscommon coming in was midfielder Shay McGlinchey, who had arguably been the form player in this championship before the final. Enter Conor Ryan (Pádraig Pearses), who got the better of the Tuam Stars player over the course of the hour, grinding him down with relentless energy and honesty.

“We had Conor Ryan in mind for that role from a long way out,” Dunning said

“I think he rose to the occasion, he was my man of the match, he drove at them constantly, he was a threat in the air and he worked very hard. He wasn’t the only one that worked hard but for me, his workrate stood out. We knew that if we could get a foothold there at all, we’d be a long way towards where we wanted to be at the end of the game, and so it proved.”

As celebrations continued on the Castlebar pitch, it felt like the shadow of this Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Tyrone (Kinspan Breffni Park, 5pm) hung over MacHale Park, since it would force those within the dressing room to move on quickly, instead of basking in their provincial success.

Dunning wasn’t concerned with that aspect, saying that he’d prefer to quickly get back to action.

“I think they’ll feed massively off the confidence and momentum from today. The thing for us now is to keep them grounded and get them focused on next Saturday straight away. I would much rather that than having a couple of weeks of a break, because you’ll soon get over the knocks and bumps when you’ve an All-Ireland semi-final on the horizon," said Dunning.

“Tyrone have come through a very tough Ulster championship, no more than ourselves in Connacht, but we’ll be ready for them, we’ll be fine. They’re an excellent team and they’re playing well, but we are Connacht champions so we should be confident too,” he added.