If this afternoon's championship clash was a battle, then it was Kildare’s air force that won the day.
While Roscommon battled ferociously throughout in the trenches, despite showing clear signs of fatigue, the aerial power of Glen Ryan’s troops was the trump card that the Rossies simply couldn’t match.
It was appropriate then, that it all boiled down to one aerial battle, under the shadow of the stand in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Daniel Flynn sent a long, raking ball into a crowded backline, and Kevin Feely outmuscled Ciarán Lennon to secure the best position and to pluck the ball down from the air, setting up the game winning opportunity.
The Athy man struck his shot sweetly, arcing the ball up into the clouds and over the crossbar for his third point from an attacking mark, and Kildare’s fifth in total. It was the score that gave Glen Ryan’s men a richly-deserved victory, and secured home advantage for next weekend’s round of All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, albeit "home" for Kildare means one of their neighbouring counties, and perhaps even a return to Tullamore.
For Roscommon, the defeat means that they will have to make a long road trip to either Cork, Omagh or Ballybofey – but they can have no complaints after struggling to match Kildare’s intensity.
In general play, Kildare were the stronger side for the larger share of the game, other than a 15-minute spell in the first half when black cards for Alex Beirne and Ryan Houlihan put them on the back foot.
Outside of that, Glen Ryan’s side were much more impressive, both in their own attacking play, and how they shut down the majority of Roscommon’s main attacking weapons.
First and foremost was the manner in which they negated Conor Carroll’s kick-outs with clever positional play, a strong attacking press and real ferocity in battling for loose ball. That gave them a solid platform of possession, and while it would be easy to look at the final tally of wides – 11 for Roscommon and five for Kildare – and declare that Roscommon kicked the game away, much of that was down to Kildare forcing Roscommon into low-percentage shots.
Five of those Roscommon wides were in the first quarter, when Kildare dominated. After conceding the first score of the game to Cian McKeon, the Lilywhites took over and were full value for their five-point lead at 1-04 to 0-02.
Their goal was a thing of real beauty too, opened up by Darragh Kirwan’s shoulder drop and dummy, which led to a clever flick from Kevin Flynn into the path of Alex Beirne.
The Naas man still had plenty to do, but a first-time volley caught every one of the 7,000 supporters by surprise as it fizzed past Conor Carroll into the corner of the net.
Two Kildare black cards offered Roscommon a way back into the game, and when the lifeboat was put in front of them, Davy Burke’s men didn’t need to be asked twice, quickly making their way to solid ground again.
Diarmuid Murtagh pounced on a defensive error to set up Enda Smith for their goal, Dylan Ruane and McKeon kicked excellent points from play to make it 1-06 to 1-04 at half-time, and for the majority of the third quarter, that was how it stayed, with the Connacht county keeping their noses in front.
Kildare played the more expansive football generally, and they also looked like a side that had more energy going into the final quarter. A good catch from Neil Flynn intercepted a Roscommon kickout and that was the possession that ended with Ben McCormack levelling the game, and now Kildare smelled blood, kicking on to move two points clear.
The defensive resilience of players like Brian Stack, Niall Daly and Eoin McCormack kept the Rossies in the game, while Smith was a colossus at the other end of the field, kicking wonderful points, none better than his equaliser early in stoppage time to cancel out McCormack’s third point of the game.
A draw would have been enough for Roscommon to preserve second place in the group and that high-pressure point might well have been enough, had the Rossies found a way to get their hands on the ball again.
Instead Kildare seized the last possession of the game, and Kevin Feely crowned their best performance of the year with the perfect finale.
Roscommon: Conor Carroll; Dylan Ruane (0-01), Colin Walsh, Brian Stack; David Murray, Niall Daly (0-01), Eoin McCormack; Eddie Nolan, Conor Daly; Ciaráin Murtagh (0-04, 3f), Cian McKeon (0-03, 1m), Enda Smith (1-03); Donie Smith (0-01f), Ben O’Carroll (0-01), Diarmuid Murtagh (0-01f).
Subs: Ciarán Lennon for C Daly (20), Conor Hussey for Walsh (44), Daire Cregg for D Murtagh (59), Niall Kilroy for D Smith (60), Richard Hughes for Nolan (70).
Kildare: Mark Donnellan; Eoin Doyle, Ryan Houlihan, Shea Ryan; David Hyland, Kevin Flynn, Jack Sargent; Kevin O’Callaghan (0-01), Kevin Feely (0-04, 3m, 1f); Paddy McDermott, Alex Beirne (1-02), Neil Flynn (0-04, 3f); Daniel Flynn (0-01m), Darragh Kirwan (0-01), Ben McCormack (0-03).
Subs: Darragh Malone for Houlihan (44), Tony Archbold for Beirne (59), Harry O’Neill for Doyle (65), Paul Cribbin for McDermott (70).
Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).
