Cian Connolly, Roscommon Gaels, and Niall Carty, Pádraig Pearses, in Roscommon SFC Final action at Dr Hyde Park. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Roscommon SFC Final
Padraig Pearses 1-11 Roscommon Gaels 1-9
By Kevin Egan at Dr Hyde Park
Pádraig Pearses were comfortably the better side for the vast majority of this afternoon’s Roscommon senior football final, but they still needed late points from Paul Carey and Jack Nevin to see out their win over Roscommon Gaels and secure a third Fahey Cup in six seasons.
Storm Ashley sent a strong breeze across Dr. Hyde Park for the game but on a very good playing surface, there were surprisingly few errors in a game of real quality. Eighteen-year-old John McGuinness marked himself out as a potential star of the future with an excellent performance for Roscommon Gaels, scoring 1-2 and winning another free, but he was the only forward that made any headway against a rock-solid Pearses defence, where stalwarts Niall Daly and Niall Carty dictated proceedings.
Daly also kicked the opening score, a glorious strike from 40 metres out, and it got a first half underway where Pearses were clearly superior from start to finish.
Paul Carey didn’t score from play but he was centrally involved in a lot of big scores for the South Roscommon club, including Eoin Colleran’s goal, tapped in from close range after James Fetherstone parried Carey’s initial effort.
A wonderful piece of opportunism from McGuinness, who showed composure beyond his years to pull down a punched clearance from Paul Whelan and dummy one shot before rifling the ball to the roof of the net, kept the Gaels in the game.
However the county town side still looked like they had it all to do at half-time when they trailed by 1-7 to 1-1. For good measure, they knew at this point that they still had to play five more minutes with Cathal Dineen on a black card.
Pearses continued to look comfortable in possession and potent on the break, but they failed to build on their advantage in that opening five minutes of the second half, or at any stage in the third quarter. Frank Canning’s charges still led by six with 12 minutes to play, 1-9 to 1-3, but it looked like Roscommon Gaels might make them pay when they went on a superb run of scores, raising the temperature in the stadium with each one.
Mark Purcell struck two frees and a haymaker from out on the left wing, Ryan Conlon also hit the target with another really difficult attempt, and then an exquisite chip lift in heavy traffic from McGuinness opened up another opportunity from the 13m line, which the teenager flashed half a metre over the bar, just when it looked like he might raise a second green flag.
As is often the case however, experience came to the fore in a tense finale and after Niall Daly, Niall Carty and Paul Carey held possession between them in the left corner of the attack, David Murray collected possession and drew a foul.
Carey made light of the really difficult angle to split the posts, and another breakaway score for Jack Nevin left the Gaels chasing a goal. A pointed free from Rory Carthy was all they could muster, so their 20-year wait for a 19th county title goes on, as does the 2024 campaign of a Pádraig Pearses side that could yet be a significant factor in the AIB Connacht Club championship when it gets underway next month.
Scorers for Pádraig Pearses: Eoin Colleran 1-3, Paul Carey 0-4 (4fs), Niall Daly 0-1, Ronan Daly 0-1, Adam McGreal 0-1, Jack Nevin 0-1.
Scorers for Roscommon Gaels: John McGuinness 1-2, Mark Purcell 0-3 (2fs), Rory Carthy 0-2 (2fs) Peter Gillooly 0-1f, Ryan Conlon 0-1.
Pádraig Pearses: Paul Whelan; Gavin Downey, Niall Carty, David Murray; Declan Kenny, Caelim Keogh, Conor Harley; Conor Ryan, Niall Daly; Conor Daly, Ronan Daly, Adam McGreal; Eoin Colleran, Paul Carey, Jack Tumulty.
Subs: Seán Canning for McGreal (44), Jack Nevin for Tumulty (55), Conor Lohan for Harley (58), Mark Richardson for Downey (60+2), Emmett Kelly for Colleran (60+2).
Roscommon Gaels: James Fetherstone; Cathal Dineen, James Connolly, Eoghan Carthy; Senan Lambe, John McManus, Tim Lambe; Mark Purcell, Mark Healy; Cian Connolly, Scott Oates, Ryan Conlon; John McGuinness, Peter Gillooly, Richard Walsh.
Subs: Kieran Kilcline for Gillooly (37), Conor Grogan for Dineen (42), Rory Carthy (0-02, 0-02f) for Walsh (49), Ronan Gleeson for Oates (54).
Referee: Dermot Lyons.
