Pearses hold firm to get over the line at the eighth time of asking
PADRAIG PEARSES finally conquered the summit in Roscommon with a first senior football title at Hyde Park yesterday.
It was their eighth appearance in the final, and victory was harder fought than it should have been. For the final moments their goal was under siege as Roscommon Gaels went in search of a replay that seemed a ludicrous idea. Trailing for most of the match, they were down to 13 and should have been beaten.
But the process of winning that first title doesn’t always follow logic. Pearses kicked the first two scores of the second half to extend their lead to nine and were well on top by the 57th minute, when leading by seven points and two men to the good.
Bryan O’Gara and Cian Connolly were shown reds after consultations between umpires, linesmen and referee Marty Parker – a replacement for Patrick McTernan, whose wife gave birth earlier in the day.
O’Gara and Connolly were picked out by the match officials after Gaels had tried to take a free near the end of normal time, with Pearses delaying it, leading to some scuffles.
Ronan Carolan kicked the dead ball in Connolly’s absence, leaving six between them, and in the final minute of normal time Richard Hughes took a pass from a quickly-taken free and delivered a majestic low strike to the far corner of his rivals’ goal. Out of nowhere, Gaels were back in it.
Pearses withstood an onslaught in the eight minutes of stoppage time, but they were well worth the win.
“It is unbelievable,” said their experienced manager Pat Flanagan, who is in his second season in charge. “It is a dream come true for this club. They asked me to get involved and I am just very lucky to be part of it. It is a special club and these are special players. It is great to see them get across the line for the first time.”
Wobbles
He knows that wobbles can happen, even with a team that had five of the Roscommon team that won this year’s Connacht final. One of those, Hubert Darcy, was man of the match, scoring one goal and having a hand in the other scored by Conor Payne.
Pearses, for the most part, were comfortable dealing with whatever Gaels threw at them, with only Connolly making headway in the attack.
He had the game’s first score when he kicked a free that he earned for himself. Pearses finally got off the mark in the 10th minute when the impressive Conor Daly kicked a score after taking a pass from Darcy, and in the 13th minute they went in front with the game’s first goal. It was a lead they would never relinquish.
Daly’s delivery was gathered by Darcy, who picked out the goalscorer Payne, who worked a clever one-two with Paul Carey before palming to the net. Carey kicked two points in the first half and also laid on the second goal for Darcy.
Gaels moved John McManus up the field in the second half to try to trigger a revival. But the Roscommon town team couldn’t get out of the hole they’d left themselves in. Instead, Lorcan Daly and Kelly kicked early second-half points to open a nine-point advantage.
Connolly and McManus then kicked three points in a row. Darcy replied with a free, before the final drama. The whistle was met by huge relief by those supporting the team in red.
SCORERS – Padraig Pearses: C Payne 1-1; H Darcy 1-1 (0-1 f); E Kelly 0-3 (0-1 f); C Daly, P Carey 0-2; L Daly 0-1. Roscommon Gaels: C Connolly 0-5 (0-4 fs); R Hughes 1-0; R Carolan 0-2 (0-1 f); J McManus, P Gillooly, P Lambe 0-1.
PADRAIG PEARSES – P Whelan; S Carty, M Richardson, D Murray; A Butler, R Daly, G Downey; N Daly C Daly; L Daly, N Carty, P Carey; E Kelly, H Darcy, C Payne. Subs: T Butler for Kelly (48); A Duffy for Carey (inj 54); S Ryan for Payne (64); S Fahy for Downey (66); N Finneran for L Daly (67).
ROSCOMMON GAELS – J Fetherstone; T Lambe, J McManus, M McNeill; K O’Gara, R Hughes, P Gleeson; K Kilcline, M Healy; S Oates, D O’Gara, B Kelly; C Connolly, P Gillooly, R Carolan. Subs: M Nally for Gillooly (38); R Gleeson for McNeill (45); B O’Gara for Healy (inj 46); C Dineen for Kelly (54); J O’Gara for K O’Gara (62); R Walsh for Kilcline (66).
REFEREE – M Parker.