Murtagh’s late heroics bags crown for Rossies
DIARMUID Murtagh kicked the winner for Roscommon in added-time as Kevin McStay’s side marked their fifth consecutive FBD League final appearance with victory in Hyde Park. Two goals from Frankie Burke in the first half saw Galway recover from a slow start, but Cathal Cregg’s goal at the end of the half meant Roscommon were still in touch. Enda Smith hit the net 12 minutes from time for Roscommon as they looked likely winners, but Galway’s third goal from sub Dessie Conneely in the closing stages then pushed them ahead. But Diarmuid Murtagh (two) and Niall Daly hit the last three points for the worthy winners. ‘It was nice to win but I wouldn’t overstate it,’ said McStay, whose side next face Louth in Division 2. ‘It’s better to be facing up to Drogheda next week with the win. It was against Galway and they are a team we try to measure ourselves against, even though there was an experimental nature to both teams.’ This was Galway’s first loss of the season, while the Rossies will be pleased to see Cregg fire an important 1-4 on his return to the side.
ROSCOMMON: J Featherston; P Neilan (T McKenna 65), P Domican, S McDermott; T McKenna (N Daly 54), R Timothy, R Daly; C Daly (C Lennon 60), E Smith; F Cregg (C Compton h-t), N Kilroy, H Walsh (C Devaney h-t); D Smith (D Murtagh 65), C Murtagh (c), C Cregg. Scorers: C Cregg 1-4, C Murtagh 0-4 (2f), E Smith 1-1, D Smith 0-3, D Murtagh 0-2 (1f), N Daly, R Timothy 0-1, GALWAY: R Ó Beoláin; E Wynne, S Mulkerrin, D Wynne; G O’Donnell (c), J Duane, J Heaney (G Bradshaw 70); C Duggan, T Flynn; R Finnerty, B McHugh (C D’Arcy 65), E Finnerty; P Cunningham (A Varley 50), S Armstrong, F Burke (D Conneely 43). Scorers: F Burke 2-0, B McHugh 0-4 (2f), D Conneely 1-0, S Armstrong 0-2, J Heaney, T Flynn, R Finnerty, E Finnerty, P Cunningham, A Varley 0-1. Referee: E O’Grady (Leitrim).