Roscommon win epic Dalata Hotel Group Connacht U20 Final

Dalata Hotel Group Connacht U20 Football Championship Final

Roscommon 5-16 Mayo 2-22

By Kevin Egan at Tuam Stadium

A sensational Dalata Hotel Group Connacht U-20 final in Tuam Stadium, but one that ended in joy and elation for Roscommon and more heartbreak for Mayo.

On that simple metric, it was like three days ago all over again.

Keith Higgins’ Mayo will have nothing but the appreciation and admiration of their supporters after they threw all they had and more at the Rossies, but just couldn’t match the goal threat of their neighbours, in particular the unique and undeniable force that was Ruairí Kilcline in front of goal.

There were four points between the teams when they met in the group stages and it looked like Mayo might double or treble that margin as they played with greater fluency and style in the opening half, with more than a sprinkling of Kobe McDonald magic on top of it all.

After Roscommon opened the scoring he glided through the defence and easily picked out the top corner of the net for a Mayo goal, and throughout the first half the Mayo attack was sharp and potent. Tom Lydon finished with precision including a floated shot over Patrick Gaynor for a goal, while Darragh Beirne was no less influential in the other corner, albeit with a few more mistakes mixed in.

John Curran’s goal pulled Roscommon back to within five approaching half-time, but two misses before the interval left it 2-7 to 1-5.

Just like last Sunday, Roscommon wasted no time in eroding that advantage with four points in five minutes, then a two-point free from Eoghan Carthy that nudged them into the lead.

On Sunday, in the Connacht SFC a similar surge led to a Mayo collapse. Here, Lydon, McDonald and team captain Colm Lynch came up with the big plays to get them back into the lead, and the ship was much steadier.

Their scores came easier, but Roscommon had the goal threat and every time they were in trouble, they found the net. A gifted handpass enabled substitute Ruairí Kilcline to roll the ball into an empty net, and John McGuinness was next to rattle the twine, albeit that lead was short lived as Kobe hit back with a sublime double.

Mayo were the ones with their noses in front going into stoppage time and they turned over three consecutive Roscommon possessions, but kept giving the ball straight back. Eventually, it was wing back Keelan Kelly who took responsibility for the shot and he split the posts, forcing extra time.

Again Mayo took the lead, again Roscommon netted, this time through Kevin Hester, though Mayo still weren’t done with Kobe, Colm Lynch and Dylan Flynn on the mark. Just as he had done in the semi-final against Galway however, Ruairí Kilcline’s introduction as a monstrous target on the edge of the square turned the game.

With the spectre of penalties looming large in the fading light as just three minutes of extra-time remained, he found himself one-on-one on the 20m line, he used his huge frame to hold off the Mayo defender and with advantage in his favour, his perfect low finish brought a sensational contest to a close.

scorers for Roscommon: Ruairí Kilcline 2-0, John Curran 1-2, John McGuinness 1-1, Kevin Hester 1-0, Eoghan Carthy 0-4 (1tp, 1tpf), Niall Heneghan 0-2 (0-1m), Dean Casey 0-3 (0-1f), Patrick Gaynor 0-1 (45), Charlie O’Carroll 0-1f, Colin Murray 0-1, Keelan Kelly 0-1.

Scorers for Mayo: Kobe McDonald 1-7 (1tp, 1 45), Tom Lydon 1-6, Darragh Beirne 0-3, Josh Moyles 0-2, Colm Lynch 0-2, Dylan Flynn 0-1, Cian Walsh 0-1.

Roscommon: Patrick Gaynor; Diarmuid O'Higgins, Nikita Berzins, Michael Gillooly; Conor Grogan, Keelan Kelly, Eoghan Carthy; Niall Heneghan, Cathal Enright; Cathal McKeon, John McGuinness, Eoin Collins; John Curran, Charlie O'Carroll, Dean Casey.

Subs: Colin Murray for Grogan (half-time), Declan Kennedy for McKeon (half-time), Ruairí Kilcline for Casey (43), David Higgins for Enright (49), Kevin Hester for Curran (54), Liam Finneran for O’Higgins (full-time), Stephen Tighe for O’Carroll (full-time), Casey for Collins (73), Enright for Carthy (75), McKeon for McGuinness (76).

Mayo: Conor Meaney; James Lavelle, Tom Lambert, Aaron Coggins; Colm Lynch, Rio Mortimer, Josh Moyles; Darragh Staunton, Joey Holmes; Dylan Flynn, Kobe McDonald, Andrew Quinn; Darragh Beirne, Oisín Deane, Tom Lydon.

Subs: Cian Walsh for Holmes (43), Thomas Tuffy for Moyles (49), Conor Jordan for Staunton (55), Mark Noonan for Mortimer (full-time), Dara Neary for Quinn (full-time), Yousif Coghill for Lavelle (67), Ben Holmes for Lydon (75), Josh Carey for Flynn (76).

REFEREE: Thomas Murphy (Galway).