This was not like the old days. Sure, the pitch was invaded (twice) and some 45 minutes after the final whistle, James Nallen remained on the field signing shirts and the Mayo faithful strained to pat John Maughan on the back.

But there was little of the giddiness that has accompanied Mayo's provincial days in the 1990s. Later, as the crowds negotiated the roundabout system that borders Castlebar, Liam McHale was back on the McHale Park surface training the county under-21 team. Inside the dressing-room, the senior players were content but low key. Nobody was getting carried away.

"It was a good win for Mayo today," said Maughan.

"I was quite worried coming into this game because expectations were very high and I felt we had a huge challenge on our hands so I wasn't as relaxed as I was going into the Galway team.

"But I think we were the best team out there today although Roscommon had a couple of goal chances that might have changed the complexion of the game. Yet I feel we have a lot to work on - there were several areas of the game that we were concerned about."

It is a nice situation, winning a provincial final with ease while still learning as a team. This is new territory for Maughan with this side, a first time in Croke Park for the All-Ireland series. Their stock will have risen considerably by virtue of their smooth disposal of their neighbouring foes.

"Well, the way we see it is that we won't really fear any team but we will treat whoever we are drawn against with respect. We feel as if we have a good team here, we have speed and skill and great depth in the squad so we have a lot to work with."

Roscommon's subdued form continued. The substitution of Frankie Dolan at half-time was symbolic of how off-key Tom Carr's team were. There was no injury: it was simply a call.

"Yeah, we took him off," Carr confirmed. " We felt we needed a fresh, new approach. When you are in the situation that we were at half-time, you have to be prepared to try things.

"Seven or eight points down, you are pulling at straws and you just have to hope you can get an early goal to get back into the game."

And although Carr's second-half replacements did their part, it was a peculiarly spiritless display by the team overall, distinctly lacking in anger. "We haven't fired," Carr said. "It is disappointing. But as I said to the players, nobody set out to play that way and it certainly wasn't on the cards in training, I felt fairly confident we were up for it.

"We have to try and pick it up now and hope that the seed of defeat does not stay with us as we prepare for the qualifiers. I am sure Roscommon will come in for a lot of criticism after that and we are just going to have to take it and see where we can go from here."

It was reassuring to see that the glint had not left Shane Curran's eye. "We can either feel sorry for ourselves now or pick ourselves up. I know we looked inferior to Mayo out there today but the reality is we are not that far back. They are three games away from winning an All-Ireland, we are four. There are obviously things we need to address and we have two weeks to do that."