Rossies can recover from Tyrone defeat in Clones clash

By Kevin Egan

Suddenly, the outlook is not as rosy as it was a few short weeks ago.

The Roscommon minor, U-20 and senior footballers all have their Connacht titles in the bag and by any historical measure, that makes 2026 an excellent year for football in the county.

But two defeats to Tyrone and last Saturday’s loss to Derry have quelled momentum considerably, and a championship exit to a Monaghan side that Roscommon were able to overcome in the league would ultimately be remembered as yet another instance of the Rossies failing to live up to the potential they showed in the spring time.

If there is a positive aspect, it’s that relative to the other seven teams who are playing do-or-die championship football in round 2B this weekend, Roscommon should feel a lot happier than most.

Cavan and Kildare are a long way off the standard at this level and it would be a huge shock if either of them are in the draw for Round 3, while Kerry will almost certainly advance but they are running out of time to get their injured players back on board.

Meanwhile, Monaghan are falling into huge holes in games and the injury to Bobby McCaul has robbed them of a game-changing young superstar.

Dublin are still incredibly dependent on a handful of veterans and rumours of a Killian McGinnis injury further depletes their midfield options in the absence of Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne. Meath cannot stop shipping large totals and Derry just don’t have the spark or the depth needed to win a series of games against top tier opposition.

Relative to all that, Roscommon’s red flags are a very light shade of pink.

Tyrone made hay by attacking the right flank of the Rossies' defence in the Hyde, but there are good options available to Mark Dowd and his brains trust to try and plug those gaps. Options include a possible return to the team for Patrick Gavin and a start for Brian Stack at number six, which would free up Ronan Daly to move out to the right wing, or it could be that Ruaidhrí Fallon will have moved a lot closer to his own best form now that he’s had some minutes on the pitch and another couple of weeks of training.

Mayo prospered by letting their young players get the ball early and giving them the freedom to attack a Monaghan back line that, more than most, lets you play ball. Kobe McDonald hit 1-4 from play in the first half and Darragh Beirne had an impressive first senior start in the other corner, which bodes well for players like Colm Neary and Darragh Heneghan at St Tiernach's Park this Saturday (4.30pm).

There are other opponents who might be better at exploiting Roscommon’s relative inexperience, but Monaghan is not one of those teams.

Neither is there an obvious mismatch issue close to Conor Carroll’s goal at the other end of the field. Had Bobby McCaul been fit, then his aerial power would have been a huge test for either Eoin McCormack or Caelim Keogh, since even a defender known for his robustness in David McBrien found the rangy 21-year-old too hard to handle last time out.

Jack McCarron and David Garland are a very different type of threat and they are talented players in their own right, but they should be much more up the alley of the Roscommon full-back-line.

St Brigid’s win over Scotstown last winter was the template that will be followed when it comes to ensuring that Monaghan don’t build up a large tally on the back of Rory Beggan’s dead ball shooting, and the lessons that the group will learn from how Niall Morgan picked out pockets of space to initiate Tyrone attacks will be immensely valuable for this game too.

There are a myriad of small factors that add up to say that if Roscommon can replicate the Connacht final, specifically the manner in which they held faith to come back for another wave after Galway hit their hot streak, this is the ideal fixture for Mark Dowd and his selectors to kickstart the third and final chapter of the team’s story in 2026.

Because without doubt, Monaghan will hit a purple patch. They came back from the dead against Derry, they were able get on top of a very impressive and athletic Armagh team in the Ulster final and even after they fell 12 points down against Mayo, they never lacked conviction or belief and ultimately fell short by one solitary point.

Whatever else can be predicted with confidence, it’s a near certainty that supporters paying into St Tiernach’s Park will get value for money.

This season is still wide open for Roscommon – the winners of Saturday’s game will go into round three, to be drawn out against a 2A team that will have a week to recover from a defeat. On all known form, it will be Louth, Westmeath, Mayo and Cork in that pot, notwithstanding the potential wrinkle of a 50/50 chance of an away draw, particularly if it’s in Páirc Uí Rinn, those are all very winnable games for a team that would be back on the front foot again, with their self-belief restored.

The minors and U-20s hit their ceiling, finding Derry and Kerry too good. It’s not yet clear where the ceiling is for the Roscommon seniors, but based on everything they’ve done so far this year, it should be high enough to accommodate a narrow win over their Ulster opponents this weekend.