Goals were a killer admits Higgins after ‘mad match’

For all the good days in his Mayo career, it’s also true to say the emotions of Keith Higgins were put through the wringer more times than he’d probably care to remember. Seven All-Ireland senior finals without a win has a Guantanamo-style hardship about it.

It’s hard to imagine however, if anything could have prepared him for the rollercoaster of feelings brought about by last Wednesday’s Connacht U20 football final.

His first job and first season in management and Keith Higgins ends up having to describe the atmosphere in a Mayo dressing-room after his team has taken the lead on six different occasions only to see victory snatched from their grasp in the depths of extra-time. Worse still, Mayo, who led by eight points at one stage, had entered the game with an unblemished four wins from four while their opponents had already lost twice this season, including by four points to Mayo.

“It’s not a great place to be, it’s very quiet, a lot of lads are down. What would you expect after a game like that, after losing in such a way?” said Higgins, almost turning the question back upon the interviewer Michael D. McAndrew.

“There’s not much you can say to them, they left everything out there, you couldn’t fault anyone for their effort or their work-rate,” the manager added before laying down one very blunt truth.

“It’s tough, especially at this age group, when lads know it’s potentially their last game for Mayo under-20s and unfortunately for some lads it could be their last game for Mayo as well, so it is a tough one to take.” 

As one of the most decorated defenders in the game, the Ballyhaunis man will no doubt wonder how his team could have conceded five goals on one night but only three goals in the four games beforehand. Wednesday’s first four goals were all scored when Mayo were holding the lead while the fifth came so late it left Mayo with too much of a mountain to climb.

“They came at the wrong time for us,” admitted Keith Higgins. “We were getting a bit of a lead in the first-half and we let them back in for one and let them crawl back.

“I suppose that last one, we get it back to a point and we’re on the attack and they get a free out, and they go up and go four up. There’s no coming back from that probably, with a couple of minutes to go in extra-time.” 

The “free out” referred to was awarded to Roscommon by referee Thomas Murphy when Josh Moyles was in possession and Mayo were bombing forward.

“I’m not quite sure what it was for, you see those hand-offs all the time and there’s nothing given,” said Higgins. “But look, people could be thinking that’s sour grapes. It’s not the case,” he assured, taking no issue either with a second-half decision that disallowed what had seemed a legitimate point by the aforementioned Moyles when Mayo were already one point in front.

“It was one of those where it was curling in, the last second you don’t know whether it’s curled outside or inside. The fourth official thought it was a point, the linesman didn’t, but that’s the way it goes. That wasn’t the winning or losing of the game, I don’t think.

“The goals were a killer and it’s a small bit unlike us all year, but the game turned into a bit of madness and we played into that a small bit at times as well,” he conceded.

Meanwhile, Cian Smith was revelling in the reversal of last year’s Connacht final outcome. He was a member of current senior manager Mark Dowd’s backroom team when Roscommon won the 2015 Connacht U21 title but this was Smith’s first triumph as county manager.

“This was absolute madness. There was no logic to it. You put plans in place, but they go straight out the window in a game like that,” was his assessment of an epic game that saw the teams deliver 59 points between them.

“We were eleven points down at half-time against Sligo. We were five down ten minutes into the second-half against Galway. We were eight down at one stage this evening. The lads know that they don’t stop. The proof is in the pudding,” highlighted the victorious Roscommon manager.

“The one thing we’ve instilled in this group is that no matter what, we never stop. Whether we’re seven points up or seven points down, we keep going.

“Every one of those players are an absolute credit to themselves, their clubs and their families. We’re back since November. I couldn’t tell you the amount of training, gym and video sessions we’ve done.

“I’m so proud of the players, I’m proud to manage them and I’m proud to manage Roscommon. It takes a huge effort from everybody to make an evening like this,” he explained.