When does confidence become cockiness? In Mayo and Roscommon papers this week the upbeat mood in the Roscommon camp was the subject of debate and seen from wildly differing perspectives. Unsurprisingly, in the Roscommon Herald it was viewed as a positive sign of things to come - Confidence can tilt collision Roscommon's way ran the headline on Liam Heagney's match preview. "Barrels of enthusiasm matched by a quiet confidence within a camp that is believed to be humming hint at positive portents," said Heagney.
In the Western People, the "humming" of the Roscommon camp was portrayed as a sign of cockiness. Terry Reilly cut to the chase in his Another View column, headlined Mayo's pride versus Roscommon's cockiness. "Let's get to the point immediately: the only thing that prevents me from giving the vote to Roscommon is their exaggerated conviction that they are going to win the game," wrote Reilly.
On the basis of what happened yesterday, Reilly may just have won the argument.
Reilly didn't pull his punches about the Mayo team either. "A team that was good enough to win an All-Ireland three years ago is struggling to stay at the races because the replenishments have not been found and a system of playing to strengths not identified. There is just no pattern to Mayo performances."
A 21-point pattern has to be explained this week.
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