|
|
 |
You are > Home > Rossies break their duck at London’s expense
|
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Rossies break their duck at London’s expense
Roscommon 1-16 London 0-10
Whisper it quietly but Rosc o m m o n were just glad to get this fixture out of the way. Not that there was any chance of a seismic shock in the San Marino mode but Roscommon are finally glad to be up and running.
This was by no means a clinical performance. However, given the difficulty that the primrose and blue have experienced on their last two visits across the Irish Sea, this was a more routine dismissal of a plucky home side.
London were never likely to throw in the towel as they did against Longford. Noel Dunning’s side are a more difficult proposition on their own patch and they invariably make life much more uncomfortable for the opposition.
It was no surprise then that Roscommon captain Seanie McDermott opted to play with the aid of a strong breeze. The aim was to take the sting out of any possible London backlash. It worked a treat as Roscommon coasted through the home side’s defence during an opening half rout. By the end of it all, Roscommon were 1-11 to 03 ahead and cruising.
London made inroads during the second period but the game disintegrateed into a lottery on a heavy pitch that had been covered by five inches of snow only a few days earlier.
Roscommon were sloppy after the break and one would have expected them to close out the game in more convincing fashion.
They were held scoreless for 23 minutes as London kicked five points on the trot.
However, they had left themselves with too much to do, despite the arrival of the Hehir brothers. A repeat of such lethargy by Roscommon against Clare when on top will spell big trouble. Yet there was much to be pleased about during the opening half. Roscommon’s movement off the ball was causing the London defence all sorts of problems.
To stem a raging Roscommon tide, London sacrificed a forward to play behind midfield. It invariably backfired as James Callery was left as a lone ranger. The Elphin player created havoc down the right side of the Roscommon attack and sprayed possession around intelligently.
In addition, Ger Heneghan and Cathal Cregg were showing well for possession.
While Roscommon did manage to post 1-11 during that first half, it should have been much more as Dooney (twice) and Heneghan missed clearcut goal chances.
Cathal Cregg didn’t suffer from such shyness in front of the posts with a cracking goal after three minutes to send Roscommon on their way.
Wing-back John Nolan supplied the ammunition from a direct delivery, an obvious ploy in the conditions, which fell kindly for Cregg and he gave London goalkeeper Brian McBrearty no chance with an emphatic finish.
While Roscommon looked the part going forward, things weren’t so positive further back the field where London full-forward Eamon Brennan was giving Anthony McDermott a tough afternoon.
It was left to the ever reliable Seanie McDermott to snuff out the danger. McDermott was called into action on numerous occasions during the second half as London rained high balls on top of the Roscommon full-back line.
Darragh Kineavey and Gary Cox exchanged points before Dooney missed two chances in quick succession. One of the misses resulted in a ’45, which Heneghan did well to maunfacture a score from after the Castlerea St. Kevin’s player had opted to go short.
Main News Page |
Previous Page
|
|
|
|
