Roscommon 3-14 Galway 3-11
Roscommon and Galway served up a thrilling Connacht Under-21 football final at Tuam Stadium this evening, with the Rossies eventually emerging victorious.
Goals from Damien Comer and Enda Tierney got Galway off to a flying start in the opening quarter but Roscommon came roaring back and edged into a 1-10 to 2-06 half-time lead, their major coming from Cathal Compton.
Galway briefly took the lead at the start of the second-half with a string of well-taken scores from play but Diarmuid Murtagh turned the tide with a stunning low strike on 43 minutes and the favourites pushed on from there to secure their fourth provincial title in six years at Under-21 level.
Three points in the opening three minutes served notice an exciting battle was on the cards, and while Roscommon had the better of the early exchanges and moved into a 0-03 to 0-01 lead, the Rossies were quickly rocked back on their heels when Comer soared highest on the edge of the square and plucked out a Tierney delivery before turning and blasting the ball into the roof of the Roscommon net.
Roscommon replied immediately through Shane Killoran to level matters but Galway soon regained their advantage, rattling the Rossies’ net a second time in the 16th minute, this time from the boot of Tierney.
A long-range strike from Kieran Molloy gave the Tribesmen a five-point lead but Roscommon never wavered from their high-tempo approach, and as Paul Kenny and Murtagh caused chaos up front, Roscommon gradually worked their way back into the contest.
The comeback surge was given a real boost when Cathal Compton drove through the heart of the Galway defence and hammered the ball home from the edge of the small square, while points from Killoran and Murtagh helped them to take a narrow lead by half time, 1-10 to 2-06.
Inevitably, perhaps, the pace of the end-to-end game slowed marginally in the second period, though Galway kept up momentum immediately after the restart to add three successive points, all from play and calmly despatched under pressure.
Roscommon’s lull came to a dramatic end, however, when Murtagh, part of a full-forward line which still hadn’t scored from play up to that point, mirrored Comer’s first half goal with a catch and finish of his own in the 43rd minute.
A second senior star came to the fore just four minutes later when Enda Smith took possession on the left wing and scythed through the Galway back line to set up Paul Kenny for the game’s third goal, and Roscommon pushed that lead out to six points with injury-time looming.
Eamon Brannigan halved the gap with a stunning 25-metre drive to the top corner of the net just as the fourth official announced two minutes of added time, but Smith rose highest to catch the resultant kickout and while Galway desperately tried to salvage an equaliser and send the game to extra time, referee Jerome Henry was left to sound the final whistle and usher in wild celebrations from the substantial away following.
Galway: T O’Malley; A Nolan, J Wyndam, E Kerin; L Silke, C Cunningham, K Molloy (0-01); D Corbett, M Day; C Brady (0-03), J Heaney (0-01), E Tierney (1-01); E Brannigan (1-03), D Comer (1-02, 0-01 free), G Kelly.
Subs: M Farragher for Kelly (23), E Finnerty for Corbett (49), Paul Mannion for Brady (57), J Donnellan for Brannigan (60)
Roscommon: S Mannion; N McInerney, S Mullooly, D Barron; C Hussey, C Kenny, R Daly; C Compton (1-00), T O’Rourke; S Killoran (0-02), U Harney (0-03), J Earley (0-01); D Murtagh (1-07, 0-06 frees), P Kenny (1-00), E Smith .
Subs: E McGrath for Hussey (21), K Kilcline (0-01) for Killoran (35), N Gately for Earley (40), Thomas Corcoran for O’Rourke (24), D McGann for P Kenny (59)
Referee: Jerome Henry (Mayo).
