As statements of intent go, this would be as ballsy and as vicious as they come.
Roscommon have negotiated Division One like experts. The hype that translated to a butt of a joke after last year’s championship has quickly become substance again.
Four wins in succession have all but confirmed their place in the top flight semi-finals barring freak results conspiring to knock them out of the top four in the final two weeks It’s not going to happen.
Now, the Rossies are ready to open the doors of Dr Hyde Park for the first time this year and they do it for the visit of old rivals Mayo and the All-Ireland champions the following weekend. This Sunday though, they can put down a Marker. This Sunday, they can put down Mayo.
Stephen Rochford takes his men into enemy territory, yet to really get going this season. Mayo have notched just two points from five games and they’re in danger of slipping into Division Two a la Tyrone.
When they lost to Dublin, there were signs that they were simply getting ready for war. You could argue that they still are. The west coast men have gotten use to playing their football in late August, early September and, no matter what happens again this year, they’ll be back in the quarter-finals come what may. They could be forgiven for thinking they’d maybe time their run a little better this year – if for nothing else but to just try something different.
They could be forgiven for sacrificing a few battles if it meant they were better prepared for war in the long run. What they probably didn’t anticipate was that war would be brought on them a lot sooner and that it would declared on their own doorstep.
Because Roscommon aren’t hanging about. Fergal O’Donnell and Kevin McStay have come in and instructed them to fire at will and they’re taking aim at anyone and everyone. Where Mayo have been used to strolling through Connacht of late, they now have an adversary willing to stand up to them and fight back.
On Sunday, Roscommon can not only relegate Mayo, they can scare Mayo. They can announce to the rest of the country that they have arrived. For real.
On Sunday, McStay and O’Donnell can strike their first blow. They can put their foot down for the first time and they can show the rest of their county that they won’t be walked over anymore. This can be the moment that it all ends. And all begins.
This can be their William Wallace moment. “Lower your flags and march straight back to Mayo.”
A defeat of Mayo won’t do the trick in relegating their provincial rivals on its own but it might go a hell of a long way towards that.
Sunday’s fixtures:
Roscommon v Mayo
Monaghan v Kerry
Cork v Down
Donegal travel to Croke Park on Saturday night but the fixture isn’t relevant in this case.
If Roscommon beat Mayo and if Monaghan and Cork both pick up at least a point from their respective games, Mayo are down.
If Roscommon draw with Mayo and Monaghan and Cork both win, Mayo are down.
If Roscommon beat Mayo but Monaghan and Cork lose, it will go down to the last round of fixtures with Mayo two points from safety.
Round 7 fixtures:
Monaghan v Donegal
Kerry v Cork
Mayo v Down
Of course, Mayo could just turn around and win on Sunday and all this could be is an exercise in their superiority. This could be the cruelest of reminders that there’s still a long way to go to match the Connacht champions’ standards and it could be Rochford’s own marker to say the losing stops now.
It could be. It could be Roscommon’s day.
Either way, it going to be bloody interesting. And Connacht needed that.
