DONIE SMITH COULDN’T afford to dwell too long on Boyle’s county final defeat to Strokestown last year, regardless of the context.

The North Roscommon club had just played in their first county final in 95 years. They lost to a last minute point, 0-11 to 0-10, after losing county star Cian McKeon to injury with 10 minutes played, so it was a tough one to take.

The following Saturday however, he and his fiancé Laura got married in Portugal, which was one way of putting the defeat behind them.

Moreover, when the fog of the defeat cleared, the future for Boyle looked very bright. With Donie and his brother Enda, McKeon and fellow Roscommon forward Daire Cregg, not to mention a handful more that have played underage for the county in the past couple of years, they possess a level of firepower that is unmatched in club football in Connacht.

With several star names emigrating, Strokestown were never likely to compete meaningfully, and they made history of their own by being relegated, so there was pressure on Boyle to deliver.

Very quickly however, that pressure seemed to be ratcheted up by rumours, online and around the county, that a club transfer to a prominent club in North West Dublin was imminent for both Donie and Enda Smith, and that the 2023 championship was the last throw of the dice for this group, and for team manager Cian – brother of the two county stars.

So when the topic of this Sunday’s final against St. Brigid’s came up, one of the first things Donie wanted to address was the rumour mill.

“I’m obviously aware of them [rumours] but there’s no substance to them. Cian’s the manager, myself and Enda are very proud to play for Boyle, we love playing for Boyle and as long as we can compete at a high level for Boyle we’ll be staying with Boyle for as long as we can” he stated.

As the GPA’s official rep in Roscommon Smith had spoken before about the issues players face that arise out of social media and online discussion groups, and the next matter was in a similar vein – the idea that despite their loaded arsenal, Boyle are an incredibly defensive side that play negative football.

“I’d say more tactical than negative, if we went out and played 15 forwards, people would be quick to notice that we’re being naïve” he said.

Look, it’s very cyclical, and at the minute, what’s happening is hard to watch as a supporter. There’s no getting away from it, all the top teams play the same, it’s like basketball, everyone attacks together and everyone defends together.

“Hopefully in the next couple of years we can get away from that and use the skills that make the game great, that bit more. Right now it’s very risk averse”.

For the first 30 minutes of this year’s championship, Boyle supporters would have cried out for a bit more “risk-averse” football. They conceded a remarkable six goals in the first half of their home game against Roscommon Gaels, going on to lose by 6-8 to 2-12.

Since then however, they’ve been almost impregnable, conceding 0-8, 1-12, 2-4 and 0-9 in their subsequent games, with two of those three goals arriving in second half stoppage time.

“After the first game I think a lot of people would have questioned us and questioned where are we going from here, but it meant every game was knockout from then on. The way we try to play, that’s for other people to talk about, and obviously last week (their 1-7 to 0-9 semi-final win over Pádraig Pearses) wasn’t a spectacle that will live long in the memory, but it doesn’t matter.

“It’s all about getting the win. Teams have set up that way against us in the past and we haven’t won them games, so we’ve shown a new side to this team”.

St. Brigid’s, who have scored 4-12, 7-13, 1-11 and 1-19 in their last four outings, look set to pose a very different test.

“Whatever way Brigid’s want to play, we have to be ready to counteract that” Smith says.

“The game is won by whoever scores the most, so we have to be able to put the ball over the bar as well. We’re going to show them respect, they are a phenomenal team, they’re heavy favourites so we will have to have a plan ready for them.”