'Roscommon were hungrier for the ball today'

April 27, 2026

Mayo manager Andy Moran ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Andy Moran admitted that Mayo couldn’t match Roscommon’s hunger in their Connacht SFC semi-final defeat.

Leading by 1-11 to 1-8 at half-time in Castlebar, the hosts were blown away in the second half as Diarmuid Murtagh inspired the Rossies to a sensational 2-25 to 1-18 victory.

"Roscommon were hungrier for the ball today than us, and that's the most disappointing thing for me," the Mayo manager told RTÉ.

"We know now with the new rules that you need to be good on your own kickout, exceptionally good on their kickouts, and you need to win the breaking ball. Unfortunately today, it felt like we got well beaten."

Moran pointed out that it’s still very early days in his tenure.

"We came in—we didn’t sign a one-year deal—we came in for three years to build,” he continued.

"You see with the new rules, you saw with Galway v Leitrim last week, and the result today up in Ulster; if you are not on it and you’re not really focused on what you need to do, unfortunately, you’ll get results like today."

Meanwhile, his Roscommon counterpart Mark Dowd praised the travelling supporters who now have a Connacht SFC final against Galway in Hyde Park to look forward to on May 10.

“It’s probably something we've seen throughout the league, it's something we definitely saw in New York there two weeks ago as well, in Times Square,” he said.

“That was brilliant to see, but, like, no matter what team you are — if you're giving them something to shout about, they're going to come out and support you, and I feel that's what we're doing at the moment."


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