Burke says Roscommon felt disrespected in build-up to Mayo win

Roscommon manager Davy Burke said his team were disrespected in the build-up to their Connacht first round victory over Mayo in Castlebar.

Burke's side turfed the league champions out of the Connacht championship with a gritty and disciplined defensive display, augmented by the class of Diarmuid Murtagh in attack and the ubiquitous Enda Smith in the middle third.

It is the Rossies' second successive championship victory against Mayo at MacHale Park, their 2019 success having been their first away win at the venue since 1986.

Like this one, that arrived in the wake of a Mayo league triumph - remarkably Mayo's last four league titles (1970, 2001, 2019, 2023) having been followed by defeat to Roscommon in Connacht.

Reflecting after the win, a jubilant Burke felt his players were frustrated by the coverage in the lead-up to the game.

"I thought there was a lot of disrespect during the week," Burke told RTÉ Radio 1's Sunday Sport.

"We finished third in Division 1. On merit. And we were completely written off.

"You'd swear we were a lower level team altogether. I'm sure our boys were frustrated by that and I'm glad they put it right."

In a claustrophobic game where scores arrived slowly, Burke was happy with his side at both ends of the pitch.

"We were coming into a 50:50 game in our minds. To come in and be very competitive and try to win the game. We defended very well and took our scores up top very well. We were clinical in front of goal, which we hadn't been for a while.

"It was a wet day, scores were hard to come by. And the wind died a little bit in the second half, so we didn't get the full of it."

"But I thought we controlled the game quite well now. And we're happy about that.

"It was a brilliant, intense game of football.