Connacht SFC Semi-Final

ROSCOMMON 0-24 LEITRIM 0-10

By JOHN FALLON At Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada

Leitrim were unable to add to their championship win over New York as Diarmuid and Ciaráin Murtagh combined for eight points and Roscommon qualified for a third Connacht final in a row.

Leitrim were totally swept aside by Roscommon who held their hosts scoreless for a 40-minute spell, which delivered 11 points for Kevin McStay’s side. In total Roscommon had 12 scorers from play, while Cathal Cregg kicked four of his own after his second-half introduction.

Roscommon will now look to claim back-to-back provincial titles for the first time in 27 years when they take on either Sligo or Galway in the final on 17 June.

Playing with a strong wind at their backs the defending champions would have been thrilled to go in 0-9 to 0-2 to the good at the interval, but the home side will no doubt have been dismayed that they failed to build on a decent start at Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.

Some patience in the build-up from Leitrim allowed Keith Beirne to kick the first score of the game, but after four minutes Jack Heslin was denied by a smart save on the Roscommon line, which would have give Benny Guckian’s side a significant lift.

While they should have been four points up, Leitrim soon found themselves in arrears as Diarmuid Murtagh twice pointed for his side, and although Beirne responded with a free to level matters Leitrim failed to score again until the 49th minute.

Cathal Compton was excellent for Roscommon at midfield and Brian Stack also looked solid further back, and as a result Kevin McStay’s forwards were getting a plentiful supply of ball. The Murtagh brothers, Fintan Cregg, Stack and Enda Smith all found the target, and only for a fine Diarmuid McKiernan save Smith’s shot would have delivered a goal rather than the point.

Leitrim had their chances and Beirne missed a couple of tricky frees, while the 1994 Connacht champions were also guilty of giving the ball away cheaply, which cost them dearly with scores at the other end.

Leitrim attempted to shake things up in the forward line by moving Donal Wrynn into the full-forward line, but nevertheless, the Roscommon dominance continued in the early minutes of the second-half.

Conor Devaney, Donie Smith and Niall Kilroy kicked their first points of the game, before Leitrim finally ended their shocking run when substitute Darragh Rooney pointed four minutes after his introduction. There was also an early impact from another sub Ryan O’Rourke – both players had originally been named to start but were withdrawn before the start – but his point only put 11 points between the sides.

But Roscommon too had power hitters to arrive, and Cregg landed four from play, while Shane Killoran also split the posts to secure the win.

**Scorers for Roscommon: **Diarmuid Murtagh 0-5 (2f); Cathal Cregg 0-4; Ciaráin Murtagh 0-3 (1f); Dónal Smith & Enda Smith 0-2 each; Conor Devaney, Cathal Compton, Niall Kilroy, Fintan Cregg, Brian Stack, Shane Killoran, John McManus & Tadhg O’Rourke 0-1 each.

Scorers for Leitrim: Damien Moran 0-3; Darragh Rooney & Keith Beirne (1f) 0-2 each; Ryan O’Rourke, E Mulligan (’45) & S Quinn 0-1 each.

ROSCOMMON: Colm Lavin; David Murray, Peter Domican, Niall McInerney; John McManus, Fintan Cregg, Brian Stack; Cathal Compton, Tadhg O’Rourke; Enda Smith, Niall Kilroy, Conor Devaney; Dónal Smith, Diarmuid Murtagh, Ciaráin Murtagh.** Subs:** Conor Daly for Enda Smith (52), Cathal Cregg for Ciaráin Murtagh (52), Shane Killoran for Brian Stack (59), Ronan Stack for Kilroy (59), Finbar Cregg for Dónal Smith (61), Padraig Kelly for Compton (66).

LEITRIM: Diarmuid McKiernan; Alan Armstrong, Paddy Maguire, Michael McWeeney; Noel Plunkett, Shane Quinn, James Rooney; Mark Plunkett, Dean McGovern; Jack Heslin, Emlyn Mulligan, Brendan Gallagher; Aidan Flynn, Keith Beirne, Dónal Wrynn. Subs: Ryan O’Rourke for Heslin (36), Darragh Rooney for Beirne (43), Damien Moran for Mark Plunkett (52), Oisin Madden for Gallagher (52), Eoin Ward for James Rooney (68), Domhnall Flynn for Aidan Flynn (70).

REFEREE: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)