Roscommon manager Anthony Cunningham says they must win against Dublin

Anthony Cunningham made it clear that Roscommon are in the last-chance saloon after losing their Super 8s opener to Tyrone.

“We’re still in the championship,” he told Sky Sports after the game. “That’s the super thing about the Super 8s.

“We’re preparing for next weekend. It’s a must-win game for us in Croke Park – no better place to go. We’ll be looking to sharpen up on our performance and giving it one hell of a go.”

The Connacht champions lost to the Red Hands for the second year in succession at this stage, but the margin was reduced from 18 points to four.

Super 8s: Group 2 table

The Galway native felt his side could have got a result:

“We had a few chances we didn’t take. [Niall Morgan] had a few very good saves as well. Another day they would have gone into the net or over the bar.

“You’d have to say, a really great effort from our guys. But they came up slightly short. Maybe a few hard decisions that went against us at crucial times, were really telling factors in a match as tight as this.

“[Tyrone] are very consistent, very seasoned and very established in the system they play. That’s hard to break down. We gave that effort a tremendous go, and there are huge learnings there for our guys.

“You’d have to be proud of the effort we got compared to last year where we were shipping a lot of scores. But today, we were in that game right up to the end.”

Meanwhile, opposite number Mickey Harte expressed his delight at the victory ahead of next weekend’s meeting with Cork.

The Red Hands have now recorded four consecutive victories since their Ulster semi-final defeat, and find themselves in a commanding position in the table.

“The feel-good factor you get when you win the game, never mind the two points you get from it, is very important,” explained Harte.

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