Roscommon’s hurlers held off a late rally from the Geoffrey McGonigle-less Derry to post their first win of the Christy Ring Cup Group 2A section at Athleague today.
The Connacht men, beaten by Westmeath last time out, claimed a 1-15 to 1-13 victory and got off to the perfect start thanks to corner-forward Tom Reddington’s ninth-minute goal.
Derry struggled, despite the best scoring efforts of Gregory Biggs (0-7, 4f), and trailed 1-7 to 0-6 at the break.
Beaten three times by Down in both the Ulster Championship and the opening round of the Ring tournament, the Oak Leafers got back into contention through a Ruairi Convery goal on 53 minutes.
Convery hit 1-2 in all, but with Roscommon full-forward Ray Mulry on fire from placed balls – 0-7 (5f) – Anthony Cunningham’s home side maintained their lead to the finish.
In the other match of the second-tier Ring Cup's Group 2A, Meath surprised neighbours Westmeath by running out 3-16 to 2-10 winners in Navan.
Three of the Royals' substitutes pocketed second-half goals as Joey Toole, making his first appearance for the county in over two years, Padraig Coone and Neville Reilly hit the target.
The result marked the Lake County’s first defeat since the departure of manager Tom Ryan three weeks ago.
