Cunningham expects 'huge battle' against wounded Royals
Roscommon manager Anthony Cunningham has warned his charges of a possible backlash from Meath in this Sunday's Allianz Football League Division 2 clash at Páirc Tailteann, Navan (2pm).
Meath suffered a dreadful defeat to Galway at Pearse Stadium last Sunday, a match which saw them fail to score at all in the first half. Galway led 1-9 to 0-0 at half-time and the final score was 1-14 to 0-6 on a bitterly disappointing day for the Royals.
Roscommon, meanwhile, got off to a winning start with a 1-13 to 0-10 victory over Cork at Dr Hyde Park.
“Meath is our focus already, they didn’t come out the right side of a match in Pearse Stadium and it’s going to be a huge battle up in Navan as Meath don’t like losing there," said Cunningham after the win over Cork.
Cunningham confirmed that Conor Cox was withdrawn from the Meath encounter to prevent any risk of aggravating his hamstring injury and missing more time.
As for the return of the Pádraig Pearses and St Faithleach’s contingent, Cunningham suggested that the round three clash with Clare was a more likely landing spot for players like the Daly and Murtagh brothers among others.
"It probably might be a bit too soon for the club players from Faithleach’s and Pearses. The week after we have a spare weekend so that will be a factor too," said the TUS Midlands lecturer.
“There’s a great bunch of young players coming through in Roscommon and it’s great that we have them coming through. They supplement the Smiths and the guys that are there for a number of years, so there’s good balance there. We will welcome back as well the club players from Faithleach’s and Pearses who have had tremendous runs. We want everyone pushing on the next few weeks.”
While Cunningham wasn't happy with his side's second-half display against Cork, overall he was pleased with what he described as "a good win".
In contrast, Meath manager Andy McEntee was so frustrated by the performance against Galway that he didn't perform any media duties and left Pearse Stadium without speaking to the local media.