CORK 0-19
ROSCOMMON 0-17
MATTHEW HURLEY REPORTS
WHEN the ball dropped into Seán Powter’s hands after a heroic block from Daniel O’Mahony on Roscommon sharpshooter Diarmuid Murtagh, the whole of Cork football breathed a sigh of relief. And then rejoiced.
Powter belted the ball over the sideline. Game over. Cork won, and stayed alive in the All-Ireland championship. For Roscommon, it was game over after this loss at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise.
Given the performance and the rebound from their heavy defeat to Kerry, this win was the least John Cleary’s side deserved.
‘Luckily, the ball broke into Seán Powter’s hands and I never thought he’d kick it out over the sideline!’ the Cork boss laughed.
‘That’s what games are won on. Small margins. Particularly with the new rules, it’s so helter-skelter.
‘We needed a win like that. The group needed a win. Cork football needed a win like that against a good footballing county. I thought we played very well at times but in the first half, I thought we were nervous, tentative and didn’t get our scores. Missing goal chances again. Point chances that went wide. In fairness, after half-time, after conceding two points after the throw-in, our lads showed great resolve in reeling off four or five points.’
Sub Cathail O'Mahony kicked a crucial point.While the defence deserved praise for a dogged display late on, it was substitute Cathail O’Mahony who kicked a vital insurance score, leaving Roscommon chasing two-pointers late on.
‘We were five points up and we were hanging on at the end. We were grateful for Cathail O’Mahony’s point because a draw was no good to us. We were out of the championship with a draw. I thought we defended heroically in the last play,’ Cleary said.
A half-time lead of 0-10 to 0-6 was the boost Cork needed heading inside. Given there was very little wind, it felt like a good lead. It was the Rossies who scored the first two points in this win-or-bust clash, through Daire Cregg and Donie Smith, but a Brian O’Driscoll two-pointer settled the Rebels.
Cork duo Seán McDonnell and Mark Cronin, and Ciaráin Murtagh and Senan Lambe of Roscommon traded scores before Brian Hurley gave the Lee-siders a 0-5 to 0-4 advantage after 20 minutes. However, Cregg and Enda Smith nudged Roscommon in front again, the last time they scored in the opening half.
Cork ploughed on with 0-5 without reply which included two goal opportunities from Ian Maguire that should have ended up in the net and a point of the year contender from McDonnell. It was a four-point margin at half-time.
There might have been nervous moments in the second half but, crucially, Cork always led. McDonnell, Cronin and Eoghan McSweeney scores made it 0-13 to 0-11 after 45 minutes and in the next ten minutes Cork outscored the Rossies by 0-5 to 0-2. Colm O’Callaghan, as he was doing in midfield all game, took a foothold in the scoring this time while Paul Walsh also chipped in.
In the final 15 minutes, Roscommon threw the kitchen sink at it and had the better of that time, 0-4 to 0-1. A big moment was Micheál Aodh Martin’s save from Cregg, which was followed by Seán Brady clearing the danger from the onrushing Ciarán Lennon. At that point it was 0-18 to 0-14 and a Roscommon goal could have changed everything.
‘We kept them to one goal chance and Micheál made a fantastic save. That’s what he’s there for. He’s a great shot-stopper. That’s why we’re rolling on. Having said that, we could have had three or four goals in the first half as well,’ Cleary said.
Cork saved their championship. Next stop, Croke Park on Saturday evening. Dublin await.
Our Star: Colm O’Callaghan and Ian Maguire around the middle bossed it but Seán McDonnell is our pick. The Mallow man scored 0-4 from five shots.
Scorers
Cork: Mark Cronin 0-5 (2f); Seán McDonnell 0-4; Brian O’Driscoll (tp), Ian Maguire, Colm O’Callaghan 0-2 each; Brian Hurley, Eoghan McSweeney, Paul Walsh, Cathail O’Mahony 0-1 each.
Roscommon: Daire Cregg 0-5; Diarmuid Murtagh, Cian McKeon 0-2 each; Ben O’Carroll, Donie Smith, Ciaráin Murtagh, Senan Lambe, Enda Smith, Dylan Ruane, Eddie Nolan, Conor Carroll (45) 0-1 each.
Cork: Míchéal Aodh Martin; Seán Meehan, Daniel O’Mahony, Seán Brady; Brian O’Driscoll, Maurice Shanley, Matty Taylor; Ian Maguire, Colm O’Callaghan; Paul Walsh, Seán Walsh, Seán McDonnell; Mark Cronin, Brian Hurley (captain), Chris Óg Jones.
Subs: Rory Maguire for S Meehan (ht); Eoghan McSweeney for S Walsh (41); Seán Powter for P Walsh (55); Ruairí Deane for M Taylor (58); Cathail O’Mahony for C Óg Jones (61).
Roscommon: Conor Carroll; Pearse Frost, Brian Stack (captain), David Murray; Ronan Daly, Shane Cunnane, Senan Lambe; Eddie Nolan, Enda Smith; Dylan Ruane, Donie Smith, Daire Cregg; Diarmuid Murtagh, Ben O’Carroll, Ciaráin Murtagh.
Subs: Keith Doyle for E Nolan (temp, 41-44); Colm Neary for D Smith (49); Cian McKeon for D Ruane (52); Conor Hand for R Daly (54); Ciarán Lennon for B O’Carroll (55); Declan Kenny for S Lambe (65).
Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).
