Special day for the Rossies as Joyce sees bigger picture
The refusal to hit the panic button when Galway built up a sizeable lead in both halves of the Connacht SFC final was crucial to Roscommon's dramatic victory, according to manager Mark Dowd.
For the first time since 2019 the Rossies are Connacht kingpins after they rallied coming down the stretch to deny the visitors at Dr Hyde Park five-in-a-row and head for the All-Ireland series with silverware in the cabinet, sending home the majority of the 22,799 in attendance home in high spirits.
When Galway centre-back Kieran Molly strode up the pitch to land a two-pointer for Galway in the 20th minute, the Tribes, aided by the breeze had established an eight-point lead.
With 10 minutes remaining, Damien Comer capped an impressive cameo off the bench by drilling past goalkeeper Conor Carroll to open up a six-point advantage, yet on both occasions the hosts fought back to ensure the eye-catching semi-final win over Mayo was no flash in the pan.
Led by Darragh Heneghan (2-02), captain Diarmuid Murtagh (0-07) and orange flags courtesy of Conor Ryan and substitutes Daire Cregg and Paul Carey, the hosts head into a fixture against Tyrone in less than a fortnight full of momentum.
"There was no panic button, it was a case of trying to get on the next ball, work a score and not to bring panic into our play," he told RTÉ Sport. "We knew if that happened that would create turnovers and Galway would punish us. Once we got the ball in our hand we were causing Galway trouble.
"A sunny day at the Hyde, packed out and win it going down the home straight, it’s really special."
One of the driving forces behind the win was the electric performance of wing-forward Darragh Heneghan. He torched the Tribes defence repeatedly, finishing with two goals and central to his cousin Rob’s first-half effort.
Just 29 days after his championship debut, he has goaled in each provincial outing and finished the the game with the player of the match award.
Dowd highlighted the forward’s pace and power, and insists the decision to go direct is down to each individual player rather than a directive from management.
"We back them to do it, but they have got to be smart about it and read the situation," he said. "If they feel that they are able to take on the one-on-one, by all means go for it, but if they have the doubt, the smart move is to control the play."
Lowering both Mayo and Galway colours in the same championship season is always especially sweet for the Rossies and Dowd, in his first year in the hotseat, feels the provincial title should improve their standing outside the county.
"This thing about Roscommon being the third team in Connacht… If we are able to put in the performance, we are a match for every one of them. What it does for the county is great, you are going to see a lot of kids out at training this week in Connacht jerseys."
Galway manager Pádraic Joyce said his team were "awfully" disappointed to lose what was a brilliant game of football.
Sam Maguire ambitions have been at the forefront of his mind since taking over in 2019, and looked well-placed to become just the fourth side to claim a Conancht four-in-a-row when Comer’s goal gave them a six-point cushion on the hour mark.
They remain the only county to have hit the 20-point mark in every league and championship outing this year, but it wasn’t enough to halt the late Roscommon charge.
"We had chances to win the game and we probably let it slip," he said. "It’s not like us, we were four up with five minutes to go.
Damien Comer reacts after his second-half goal
"In years gone by, we would have seen that out but we didn't today. Fair play to Roscommon, they stuck at it. It was a brilliant game of football, I felt overall. Normally 2-22 would win most games for you, but in the current rules, no, it wasn't enough."
Aided by what was a swirling breeze, Galway led by three at the break, thanks largely to five orange flags as the visitors repeatedly tried their luck kicking into the Graveyard End.
Joyce felt his side were a little to individualistic at times in the opening 35 minutes – "at half-time, it didn't look too good for us" – but upon the resumption it was their key men that took the game by the scruff of the neck, with John Maher, Shane Walsh and substitute Comer in particular to the fore.
Even after concededing eight points on the spin, Walsh had the opportunity at the death to rescure a draw after getting a yard of space from full-back Caelim Keogh, but his effort fell just right of the posts.
With Kildare to visit Salthill in a fortnight, Joyce remains philosophical in defeat.
"I don't have much to do to motivate our lads," he said. "We know the longer-term picture in Galway was to win the All-Ireland. So, we're still in the hunt to do that.
"We have to regroup now and pull ourselves together and see where we can tweak a few things. Get a little bit sharper up top and we'll go from there.
"We'll get over it and prepare for Kildare in two weeks."
