Carroll thrilled to see Masters make their mark once more
Roscommon Masters football manager, Anthony Carroll, with Kilmore players Dermot Foley, Gary Connellan, Damian Tiernan and Paddy McCormack following Saturday's All-Ireland Masters Shield success against Meath in Drumlish.
Anthony Carroll hailed his Masters brigade, saying it "was great to finish the season on a high" as his team ended their year with silverware for the second successive year on Saturday afternoon.
The Rossies claimed a 1-13 to 2-7 win over Meath at Fr. Manning Gaels GAA Grounds, Drumlish, to claim the Shield title.
After reaching the Dr. Mick Loftus Cup final (the equivalent of the ‘A’ final) in 2024, Roscommon have maintained an impressive consistency. Last year, they won the All-Ireland Plate final before adding the Shield to their recent collection on Saturday last.
Four wins in six games meant they were just outside of qualification for the semi-final stages of the Dr. Mick Loftus Cup. But they took their chance in the tier below, securing a Shield semi-final win over Monaghan before a strong second-half showing saw them defeat Meath.
Carroll admits the victory was sweet as Roscommon finished their campaign on a high.
“It was great to win it. We won the Plate last year and the Shield in 2018 but we have lost finals too, so we know what that feels like. It was great to finish the year on a high.
“There was a great crowd from Roscommon down. Roscommon GAA has given us great support, so it all helps to build it up. With the game in Drumlish, we were the nearer team to the game. It is only 15 minutes from Roosky, so we got a really good crowd down, which was great,” he noted.
A Player of the Match performance from Darragh Hussey helped Roscommon on their way as Neil Cox, who helped St. Michael’s to an extra-time win over Kilmore the evening before, was involved on Saturday. Meanwhile, Dermot Foley and Gary Connellan came on after playing the full 80 plus minutes with Kilmore against their North Roscommon neighbours less than 24 hours earlier.
Ian Kilbride was highly influential in the middle third, while his brother Senan was unavailable with St. Brigid’s lining out on Sunday. But a strong half-back line of Adrian Murtagh, Cathal Dineen and Seán Purcell, who lined out for the Boyle junior footballers on Sunday, helped swing the pendulum Roscommon’s way.
Even though Seán Fahy and Hussey pushed Roscommon 0-2 to 0-1 in front, Meath struck the first decisive blow after Neil Darby palmed to the net following good hold-up play from Joe Sheridan, who was otherwise well-marshalled by David Delaney.
Roscommon hit straight back as Ronan Cox’s pass across goal gave Aidan Dooney the easiest of palmed finishes to the net. Ger Heneghan (free) and Dooney troubled the scoreboard but there was no separating the sides at the break as they were deadlocked at 1-4 apiece.
Anthony Carroll’s side began to gain control in the final period as Heneghan continued to be accurate from frees, which helped Roscommon lead 1-8 to 1-6. Hussey added two more while Seán Purcell and Dooney gave the winners a six-point lead late in the game.
Hussey kicked a lovely score from an acute angle to complete Roscommon’s tally and even though John L. McGee latched on to Sheridan’s long ball to net, Anthony Carroll’s men had done enough to land another piece of silverware.
