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Lee Keegan Had Killer Roscommon Dig Ahead Of Mayo's Dr Hyde Park Date With Dublin

Lee Keegan Had Killer Roscommon Dig Ahead Of Mayo's Dr Hyde Park Date With Dublin
Jonathan Browne
By Jonathan Browne
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The Sam Maguire round robin heads into its final round this weekend with one of the headline clashes being Dublin taking on Mayo.

The two face a long history with each other that has usually taken place at Croke Park but this Sunday the two will travel to neutral ground to face off at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon.

The decision was made to move the game from Croke Park after Mayo submitted a request as they felt Croke Park gave Dublin an advantage in what was supposed to be a neutral venue.

Dublin may be the stronger team on paper but getting them to play away from Croker can only help Mayo level the playing field as a win would mean they top the group and head straight to the quarterfinals.

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In his column for RTÉ former Mayo man Lee Keegan wrote about the lack of excitement heading into this matchup as well as the change of venue where he also threw a little dig at a Connacht rival.

The usual buzz that precedes a game against Dublin is fairly absent this week, partly because it isn't a knockout fixture but also because the expectation around this Mayo team isn't what it was a few years ago.

It's an exciting novelty to get them out of Croke Park for a change even if it does entail going to the pitch beside the graveyard again. I know we always win there but that's because we're usually playing Roscommon.

It's a playful jab at the Rossies but one that would anger fans nonetheless. He may be retired from the inter-county game now but Lee Keegan still has that competitive edge.

However, he does make an interesting point in that jab as well. Mayo play fairly regularly at Dr Hyde Park having faced Roscommon in the Connacht Championship so it'll be interesting if the advantage swings somewhat in the other way from Dublin having an advantage in Croke Park to Mayo having on in Dr Hyde Park.

Keegan also didn't miss the opportunity to throw a jab at the format of the round robin, with three teams from each group progressing to the knockouts. He's been very outspoken about the format over the past year and his disdain that 12 of the 16 teams still have a chance at winning the whole tournament after the group stage.

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It will be interesting to see how the final round of matches pan out and who avoids the quarterfinal preliminaries.

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