Connacht SFC Final: Roscommon triumph after epic ending

CONNACHT SFC FINAL

ROSCOMMON 3-21 (3-4-13) GALWAY 2-22 (2-6-10)

Kevin Egan at King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park

The Roscommon revolution keeps on rolling, although it teetered on the edge of the track in the Hyde this afternoon.

These are heady times for the Rossies, with Connacht U-20, minor and now senior titles all bagged, and mathematically, this was the most ‘comfortable’ win of the three finals.

Ask any of the 22,799 supporters packed into the stadium, and comfortable was not a word they would have used about their emotions over the course of this contest; particularly the second half, which sprawled over more than 46 minutes due to a plethora of stoppages.

It was tumultuous, dramatic, laced with moments of agony and ectasy for both sides, and there were two distinct points where it looked like Galway would win, and potentially win with authority.

The first was early in the first half, when the Tribesmen opened the scoring with a Rob Finnerty goal, and they went on to use the breeze brilliantly. Five two pointers were sent over Conor Carroll’s crossbar in the first half from nine attempts, two each from Paul Conroy and Shane Walsh with another from Kieran Molloy. Contested kickouts were another sphere of dominance for the Tribesmen, while they held the ball for long stretches to take the crowd out of the game.

The explosiveness of this Roscommon team couldn’t be contained forever. With 15 minutes to go before half-time it was 1-9 to 0-4, and only team captain Diarmuid Murtagh was making any inroads up front.

Enter the new generation, led by Darragh Heneghan. He had a shot parried by Conor Flaherty that was slammed to the net by Robert Heneghan, and a minute later he glided through the Galway defence again, this time picking out the bottom corner himself to reduce the margin to just two points all of a sudden.

Conroy hit his second double in response but points from Dylan Ruane, Diarmuid Murtagh and Keith Doyle kept the momentum going. Murtagh could well have had another goal and he also dropped a free short, and even though Shane Walsh nudged it out to 1-14 to 2-8 at the break, it was Roscommon that would have been much the happier team at that stage, given the strength of the breeze.

Ten minutes into the second half Conor Ryan sent the orange flag flying at the graveyard end once again, Darragh Heneghan cemented his status as All-Star contender with his third goal in the space of around an hour of football and Galway were on the ropes.

You don’t reach two All-Ireland finals in four seasons without having a healthy mix of nous and talent however, and the next 20 minutes was a masterclass in controlled football from the Tribesmen. Damien Comer gave them a focal point up front after coming in to operate in the heavy traffic close to goal, Cillian McDaid and Seán Kelly showed leadership and tenacity, and John Maher was ferocious and irresistible, leading the charge.

Kieran McGeeney’s comments about midfield ‘piggery’ have been widely discussed over the last few months, and one kickout when Galway needed a ball summed Maher up. Around six bodies jumped, the ball hit the deck and the scene was like something from American football, with hordes of men descending on a fumble to take possession. There was Maher, one of several huge plays.

Shane Walsh nailed a two-pointer into the wind, and when two Roscommon men jumped for a kickout and the resultant breakaway saw Damien Comer hammer the ball into the roof of the net to make it 2-22 to 3-13 on 61 minutes, it looked like it was all over.

It should have been all over – except it wasn’t. For all the heroics of the Roscommon starters, it was time for the subs to make the difference.

Paul Carey and Daire Cregg hit two pointers, then with two minutes remaining and one between the teams, Cian McKeon won a kickout break between three Galway men, and was fouled. He tried to tap and go, was impeded, and referee Martin McNally brought the free forward.

Diarmuid Murtagh, with ice in his veins, split the uprights, and Roscommon just had to hold on.

Of course, that’s not how this group are wired. Enda Smith took a sideline and instead of holding the ball, he drove for goal, setting up another point for Murtagh. That left Galway needing a double into the wind and while Shane Walsh got a shot away under pressure from Caelim Keogh, it was a huge ask and the kick drifted narrowly wide. Cue pandemonium, as Roscommon supporters spilled onto the pitch, hailing yet another sensational win in what has been an incredible season so far.

SCORERS FOR ROSCOMMON: Darragh Heneghan 2-2, Diarmuid Murtagh 0-7 (1tpf, 0-2f), Robert Heneghan 1-0, Conor Ryan 0-3 (1tp), Daire Cregg 0-3 (1tp, 0-1f), Paul Carey 0-2 (tp), Dylan Ruane 0-1, Senan Lambe 0-1, Keith Doyle 0-1, Conor Carroll 0-1 (45).

SCORERS FOR GALWAY: Shane Walsh 0-9 (2tp, 1tpf, 1 45), Damien Comer 1-2, Robert Finnerty 1-1, Paul Conroy 0-4 (2tp), Kieran Molloy 0-2 (tp), Seán Kelly 0-2 (0-1f), Céin D’Arcy 0-1, Dylan McHugh 0-1.

ROSCOMMON: Conor Carroll; Paddy Gavin, Caelim Keogh, Eoin McCormack; Eoin Ward, Ronan Daly, Senan Lambe; Keith Doyle, Conor Ryan; Dylan Ruane, Enda Smith, Colm Neary; Darragh Heneghan, Diarmuid Murtagh, Robert Heneghan. Subs: Daire Cregg for R Heneghan (46), Ruaidhrí Fallon for Ward (51), Paul Carey for Gavin (56), Conor Hand for Neary (62), Shane Cunnane for Ryan (64), Cian McKeon for D Heneghan (65).

GALWAY: Conor Flaherty; Johnny McGrath, Liam Silke, Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh, Kieran Molloy, Seán Kelly; Paul Conroy, John Maher; Daniel O'Flaherty, Cillian McDaid, Céin D'Arcy; Robert Finnerty, Ryan Roche, Shane Walsh. Subs: Finnian Ó Laoi for O’Flaherty (half-time), Damien Comer for Roche (42), Cian Hernon for Conroy (51), John Daly for Molloy (51), Matthew Tierney for Finnerty (60), Shane McGrath for McDaid (61).

REFEREE: Martin McNally (Monaghan)