Easy on the Mayo as Rossies flounder

Mayo                           1-19
Roscommon                0-14

Edwin McGreal
MacHale Park

Mayo justified their tag as heavy favourites with the bookmakers with a comfortable eight point win over a disappointing Roscommon side in Castlebar tonight.
The game was all over bar the shouting when a Cillian O'Connor penalty three minutes after half-time opened up a nine point lead for Mayo and the rest of the game played out almost as a formality.
It leaves Mayo with two wins on the spin facing into a trip to Dublin next Saturday night.
Roscommon remain rooted to the foot of the table, with no points from their first three games.
The platform for Mayo's win was laid in the first half. Despite missing four chances in the opening five minutes, Mayo's dominance around the middle third - where Diarmuid O'Connor, in particular, and Jason Gibbons were on song - ensured the platform for plenty more chances.
They had eleven points on the board by the break, compared to just five for Roscommon, and the scores came from all over. Cillian O'Connor kicked four while Fergal Boland added to his growing reputation with two fine points as Mayo almost owned the ball at stages.
Roscommon had to be efficient in attack with so little possession and they were initially, kicking each of their first four shots over from the boots of Shane Killoran, Enda Smith, Fintan Cregg and Donie Smith.
However, they spurned three goal chances before the break. In essence, their comeback died there. Keith Higgins superbly blocked from Donie Smith while All Star goalkeeper David Clarke made two marvellous saves from Enda Smith and SeΡn Mullooly.
Mayo led 0-11 to 0-5 at the break and the first score of the second half was a decisive one. SeΡn McDermott fouled Evan Regan in the large parallelogram and Cillian O'Connor confidently dispatched the penalty.
The first half saw the return to action for Mayo of Footballer of the Year Lee Keegan, fresh from his All-Ireland club success with Westport. He came on to a rapturous roar for the black-carded Colm Boyle and helped himself to two points.
So, too, did two more returning players, Brendan Harrison and Conor Loftus.
Clarke had to be alert at the other end to keep Mayo's goal safe but a comeback never realistically looked on.
A total of 12 different scorers got in on the act for Mayo but while this is a good boost facing into the challenge of Dublin next weekend, Stephen Rochford and Co will be acutely aware that will be a very different kind of test against the All-Ireland champions.

Mayo
D Clarke; D Newcombe, K Higgins, P Durcan; S Coen, C Boyle, D Vaughan (0-1); D O'Connor (0-1), J Gibbons (0-1); F Boland (0-2), K McLoughlin (0-1), C O'Shea (0-1); E Regan (0-1, f), A Moran (0-1), C O'Connor (1-4, 1-0pen, 1f). Subs: L Keegan (0-2) for Boyle (black card 29mins); C Loftus (0-2) for Moran (50mins); B Harrison (0-2) for Vaughan (53mins); S Nally for Boland (55mins); M Plunkett for O'Shea (59mins); L Irwin for Regan (66mins).

Roscommon
C Lavin; D Murray, S Mullooly, N McInerney; R Stack, S McDermott, J McManus; S Killoran (0-1), T O'Rourke; F Cregg (0-1), C Murtagh (0-2), E Smith (0-2); D Smith (0-3), T Corcoran (0-1), C Devaney (0-3). Subs: C Cafferkey for Killoran (black card 25mins); K Higgins for Cregg (44mins); G Patterson for McDermott (54mins); N Kilroy (0-1) for Stack (58mins); B Murtagh for Devaney (61mins).

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).