Rossies rally to deny Galway and claim Connacht title
Try telling Roscommon supporters that provincial football doesn't matter as the Rossies made it a clean sweep of Connacht football crowns by ending Galway’s provincial domination with a dramatic 3-21 to 2-22 victory at Dr Hyde Park.
With the minors and Under-20s already securing silverware, Mark Dowd’s side backed up their thumping semi-final win over Mayo to secure a 25th Connacht crown and arrest a poor home championship record against the Tribesmen when it appeared Damien Comer’s second-half goal would be enough for the visitors.
Roscommon however failed to yield, closing the game with eight unanswered points to emerge victorious in a high-quality afair and spark jubilant scenes at the full-time whistle.
You have to go back to 2001 for last time Roscommon fans were treated to a provincial title on home soil and it ends a 36-year wait to down the Tribes at the Hyde.
Comer’s goal on the hour mark pushed Galway into a six-point lead, but Pádraic Joyce’s side couldn't close the deal, with their neighbours holding their nerve coming down the stretch, aided by three two-pointers.
The pitch turned into a sea of primrose and blue as soon as referee Sean Hurson brought proceedings to a conclusion as captain Diarmuid Murtagh lifted the Nestor Cup following a gripping finale.
It may lead to some reassessment for Galway’s All-Ireland ambitions, but the visitors couldn’t have asked for a better start to quell the raucous home support.
Darragh Heneghan’s point effort hit off the left upright and it was it was his opposite number for Galway Cein Darcy that was quickest to gather the rebound. After a one-two with John Maher, the Ballyboden man floated an inviting long delivery that was gathered in the air by championship debutant Ryan Roche. He fed Rob Finnerty, with the Salthill man smashing past goalkeeper Conor Carroll.
The Rossies responded through talisman Murtagh, but it was early advantage to the visitors, Shane Walsh drilling over a 45 before Daniel O’Flagherty’s industrious work around the middle teeing up Finnerty for his first point from play, already causing problems for full-back Caelim Keogh.
A 12th minute free from Murtagh, after the lively wing-back Senan Lambe was fouled, reduced the deficit,1-02 to 0-02, but Galway soon upped the tempo.
Cillian McDaid’s turnover in the middle of the field was richly rewarded when Galway raised the first of five orange flags in the opening 35 minutes, Paul Conroy opening his account.
Shane Walsh would follow suit after another Finnerty score, the Tribes surging into an eight-point lead.
The foraging Lambe got himself on the scoresheet before Murtagh tapped over a handy free when goalkeeper Conor Flaherty’s restart failed to land outside the D.
Kieran Molloy, a late change on the Galway team for John Daly, was tasked with keeping tabs on Enda Smith early doors but his journey into enemy territory yielded a successful kick outside the arc.
Just as their challenge appeared to be floundering, Dowd’s side struck for two goals in little over a minute, with Darragh Henegahn centrally involved in both.
The Michael Glaveys man took a return pass from full-back Keogh and while Flaherty did well to parry the shot, his cousin Robert was in the right place to finish to the net.
Flaherty had little time to dwell on that before he was picking the ball out of the net again. Heneghan took a return pass this time from Neary before coolly finishing past the Galway shotstopper to reduce the margin to two points.
A second Conroy two-pointer stopped the rot from a Galway perspective, stretching their advantage to 1-11 to 2-04.
Another incisive home attack resulted in Dylan Ruane opening his account, before Murtagh spurned a great opportunity in the 25th minute for a third green flag, the St Faithleach's man unable to keep his rasping effort under the bar.
Enda Smith carried into contact before laying off to Keith Doyle to boot over into the Town End, the gap down to the bare minimum, 1-11 to 2-07.
A Carroll mishap from a restart saw Walsh sniffing a goal, but the Rossies scrambled to prevent serious damage before Dylan McHugh assumed responsibility to split the posts.
Darragh Heneghan continued to be at the heart of everything good from a Roscommon attacking perspective, easily cutting inside McHugh for another score.
The final score of the half was created and finished by the Galway inside line, Finnerty picking the pocket of Patrick Gavin as he stormed out of defence, with Walsh stroking over his second and Galway’s fifth two-pointer of the half as they retired to the dressing room with a three-point advantage, 1-14 to 2-08.
Seán Kelly and Conor Ryan traded points upon the resumption, the hosts eking out goal chances on a couple of occasions.
Roscommon’s first two-pointer of the game, in the 41st minute courtesy of midfielder Ryan, brought a huge response from the crowd before Joyce decided to spring Damien Comer off the bench for Roche.
Darragh Heneghan continued where he left off in the first half, curling over off his right to level, while a low drilled finish after the Tribes defence was once again prized apart for his second goal of the game pushed Roscommon into a two-point lead, a Walsh score for Galway sandwiched in between.
A brilliant block from Ronan Daly denied Kelly a goal after he slipped in behind the cover before Comer marked his 53rd championship outing with a score, followed by a Walsh free from outside the arc to nudge the visitors back into a slender lead in the 53rd minute, 1-18 to 3-12.
A Murtagh free restored parity but now Comer was beginning to become a growing influence. The Annaghdown powerhouse saw a gap before he was unceremoniously brought to ground by corner-back Gavin who saw yellow for his agricultural challenge with Walsh unerring from the resulting free.
With Galway pressing for home, Comer made it two points from two shots before Kelly’s shot glanced off and over the crossbar.
Comer’s goal stamped his class on proceedings with nine minutes remaining as they appeared to have one hand on the Nestor Cup with a healthy 2-22 to 3-13 lead.
That however proved to be their final score of the game as Roscommon dug deep.
Roscommon substitutes Paul Carey and Daire Cregg both kicked crucial two-pointers, with goalkeeper Carroll landing a free with just the bare minimum between the sides and three minutes left on the clock.
Murtagh, who didn’t enjoy the same level of freedom he had against Mayo, then landed two on the spin, the first a two-point free before whipping over another from play.
There was still time for Galway to engineer one kick from distance to salvage a draw, but Walsh’s effort fell to the right of the posts as the home supporters braced themselves for the pitch invasion.
Galway have less than a fortnight to ready themselves for the visit of Kildare, while the in-form Rossies will welcome Tyrone to the Hyde as they look to take a direct route to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Roscommon: Conor Carroll (0-01, 45), Patrick Gavin, Caelim Keogh, Eoin McCormack; Eoin Ward, Ronan Daly, Senan Lambe (0-01); Keith Doyle (0-01), Conor Ryan (0-03, 1tp); Dylan Ruane (0-01), Enda Smith, Darragh Heneghan (2-02); Diarmuid Murtagh (0-7, 2f, 1tpf), Colm Neary, Robert Heneghan (1-00).
Subs: Daire Cregg (0-03, 1tp, 1f) for Robert Heneghan (46), Ruaidhri Fallon for Ward (50), Paul Carey for Gavin (56), Conor Hand for Neary (62), Shane Cunnane for Ryan (62), Cian McKeon for D Heneghan (65, temp)
Galway: Conor Flaherty; Johnny McGrath, Sean Kelly (0-02), Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh (0-01), Kieran Molloy (0-02, tp), Liam Silke; Paul Conroy (0-04, 2tp), John Maher; Daniel O'Flaherty, Cillian McDaid, Cein D’Arcy (0-01); Robert Finnerty (1-01), Shane Walsh (0-09, 2 tp, 1f, 45), Ryan Roche.
Subs: Finian Ó Laoi for O’Flaherty (half-time), Damien Comer (1-02) for Roche (42), Cian Hernon for Conroy (50), John Daly for Kieran Molloy (50), Matthew Tierney for Molloy (59), Shane McGrath for McDaid (60)
Referee: Seán Hurson (Tyrone)
Attendance: 23,799
