The wind was the only winner in Dr Hyde Park as Connacht neighbours Roscommon and Galway played out a low-scoring draw in difficult conditions.
Trailing by three points at the break, Galway — who were missing Shane Walsh and Damien Comer — looked to be in good shape with the elements to come in their favour. But Roscommon dug in and coped with the loss of Donie Smith to a 61st minute red card to eke out a share of the spoils.
For the bulk of the opening 35 minutes, Galway performced admirably against the strong wind that was blowing straight down the field towards the Graveyard end of the Hyde, and their strong running threatened to open up the home side on a few occasions.
With John Maher and the excellent Paul Conroy laying a platform at midfield, the Tribesmen opened the scoring through a Robert Finnerty free after Cathal Sweeney flashed a goal chance wide.
Conor Cox, who was introduced for the injured Ciarán Lennon inside the first 10 minutes, opened Roscommon's account but Cillian Ó Curraoin finished off a good move with the game’s first point from play to edge his side in front once more.
Cox restored parity from a 17th minute free before a long-range effort from Daire Cregg nudged Roscommon ahead for the first time.
A beautifully-struck free off the ground from Matthew Tierney into the teeth of the breeze restored parity in the 22nd minute. Then Ruaidhrí Fallon and Ó Curraoin (free) swapped scores to leave it 0-04 apiece after 28 minutes.
The introduction of Brian Stack coincided with Roscommon finally gaining some traction with a hat-trick of points from Cox, including his first of the afternoon from play, to leave his side 0-07 to 0-04 in front at half time.
But the advantage was precarious, given the strength of the breeze.
But Galway never managed to get ahead in the second half as Roscommon’s resilience, epitomised by Eoin McCormack and Ben O’Carroll, kept them alive.
Early frees from Finnerty and Ó Curraoin suggested that it wouldn’t take Galway long to reel in their opponents, but Roscommon’s workrate all over the pitch improved and points from O’Carroll and Diarmuid Murtagh (free) restored their three-point advantage by the three-quarter stage.
But Galway kept chipping away with points from play by Kieran Molloy and Matthew Tierney, leaving the bare minimum between them before Paul Conroy brought the teams level from a free with seven minutes remaining.
Donie Smith saw red for an altercation with Paul Conroy but Galway were soon down to 14 men when substitute Jack McCabe was shown a black card moments after his introduction.
Both sides eyed up a winner but Keith Doyle was off target for the hosts, while Liam Ó Conghaile and Kieran Molloy missed chances for Galway.
In the end, a draw was probably a fair result as both teams picked up their first points of this year’s league.
Roscommon: Conor Carroll; Robbie Dolan. David Murray, Niall Higgins, Niall Daly, Ruaidhrí Fallon (0-01), Eoin McCormack; Enda Smith, Dylan Ruane; Cian Connolly, Donie Smith, Daire Cregg (0-01); Diarmuid Murtagh (0-01f), Ciarán Lennon, Ben O’Carroll (0-01).
Subs: Conor Cox (0-05, 0-04f) for Lennon (9), Brian Stack for Connolly (29), Keith Doyle for Ruane (43), James Fitzpatrick for Cregg (64), Evan Flynn for Dolan (70), Andrew Glennon for Murtagh (70).
Galway: Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald, Eoghan Kelly; Dylan McHugh, John Daly, Seán Mulkerrin; Paul Conroy (0-01, 0-01f), John Maher; Kieran Molloy (0-01), Matthew Tierney (0-02, 0-01f), Cathal Sweeney; Liam Ó Conghaile, Robert Finnerty (0-02, 0-02f), Cillian Ó Curraoin (0-03, 0-02f).
Subs: Johnny Heaney for Kelly (38), Céin Darcy for Ó Curraoin (55), Jack McCabe for Finnerty (61), Patrick Egan for Mulkerrin (70).
Referee: Conor Lane (Cork).
