Galway have booked their place in the Connacht SFC final after a fairly routine 2-11 to 0-12 victory over Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park this afternoon.
It was a decent performance from Galway, who dominated proceedings in difficult weather conditions. They were the better team throughout, although they wouldn't put real distance between the sides until the end of the game.
In truth, Roscommon never really looked like winning it. Much of that was down to their tactics, with manager Anthony Cunningham opting to adopt an über-defensive approach in order to counteract the opposition's scoring threat.
That made the game a difficult watch at times, especially as the home side struggled to transition from defence into attack.
It was also the type of game plan we perhaps should have expected from the Rossies when you consider that Stephen Poacher joined their setup earlier this year.
Many of the viewers were certainly disappointed with their approach, especially when coming up against a county they have often matched in recent seasons.
Not hard to see poachers affect on Roscommon...
— Seosamh Ó Faircheall (@jpmf1989) July 4, 2021
Roscommon set up to stop Galway winning rather than win themselves: It's a consistent failing of loads of inter-county managers who worry only about the opposition with no concept of making the opposition worry about their team
— Dave Finn (@Furlo) July 4, 2021
In a straight Knockout Championship that's a shocking way for Roscommon to get knocked out. Had no interest in trying to win the game. #GAA #ROSvGAL
— David Faughnan (@DavidFaughnan) July 4, 2021
When your mind set is damage limitation - invariably you end up damaged. ….
Goes back to ineptitude at another level ….
Not today or yesterday heading for an #abyss ..— Shane Curran (@shanetcurran) July 4, 2021
Roscommon have quality footballers-I don’t know why they don’t play a more attacking style v Galway 🤷🏻♂️ #GAA #ROSvGAL
— Killian Phair (@KillersPhair) July 4, 2021
This is depressing to watch; 15 men behind the ball, endless shuffling the ball across the fifty. No rule changes can correct the Roscommon manager's lack of imagination #sundaygame
— Liam Farrell (@drlfarrell) July 4, 2021
If Roscommon were any deeper, they’d be in Munster
— John O'Sullivan (@NotoriousJOS) July 4, 2021
As a man who has lived through a lot of Ulster Football, Roscommon's attitude in this game is causing me to lose the will to live. #gaa
— Niall MacLáimh (@monaghanpenguin) July 4, 2021
However, the Sunday Game panel pushed back on the view that Roscommon shot themselves in the foot by playing in such a defensive manner.
Speaking after the game, Kevin McStay said that Roscommon clearly felt playing this way gave them the best opportunity of winning the game.
It's all about balance, the defensive configuration and transition, have you the players to do so. You cut your cloth to what your measure is.
I'm not going to point the finger at their decision. This is the best effort they could make to give Roscommon the best chance of victory...
This is a Galway team that will be thinking they are on All-Ireland level. For Roscommon, to make this tight in the conditions they went into a strong defensive mould.
The trick is to move out of that, that's the difficulty. You can't just click a finger and say 'in the second half we're going into attacking mode', it's in the way you approach the game.
That's the frustration.
Eamon Fitzmaurice held a similar view.
He did not agree that Joanne Cantwell's suggestion that Roscommon are a team on a similar level to Galway, saying that the players in the squad would likely have voiced their concerns if they were not happy with the game plan.
I'd imagine in any setup at this level the players have a huge voice in it as well, if they haven't they should have.
If the players are disappointed with the way they set up and that it lacks ambition, it's up to them to articulate, show a bit of leadership, and make sure when they go at it next season that they have a bit more of an expansive approach that suits the forwards that they have.
At the same time, when you're trying to bridge the gap to the next level (you might have to do that).
Galway will now face either Mayo or Leitrim in a Connacht final, while Roscommon's summer had been cut short thanks to the lack of a back door in this year's championship.
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