Masterful Tyrone end Roscommon's dreams of All Ireland glory

Roscommon Masters footballers' hopes of securing All-Ireland glory fell short this afternoon as a superior Tyrone outfit emerged 4-8 to 0-9 winners.

The victory ensures Tyrone lifted the Dr. Mick Loftus Cup for the fourth time in succession as Roscommon were unable to cope with Player of the Match Stephen O’Neill.

From the off, Tyrone appeared the sharper and slicker outfit as Michael Anderson kicked his side in front after just 19 seconds. Although Brian Higgins and Dermot Foley held their own around midfield, Tyrone’s runs from deep were causing problems. That was apparent when Mark Donnelly won turnover ball before Conor Gormley fed Donnelly to rifle home his side’s first goal. 

Ger Heneghan got Roscommon off the mark with a classy effort and even though Sean Fahy slotted a free, Roscommon were held scoreless for the next 18 minutes.

Tyrone kicked 1-3 during this period as Stephen O’Neill’s influence grew with each passing minute. Barry Daly kicked two scores while Damian Kelly also tapped over after Roscommon conceded a cheap turnover close to goal. Roscommon suffered a dagger blow in the 19th minute when O’Neill declined an easy point and instead played a sumptuous pass to Anderson for an easy finish to the net.

Roscommon were boosted by Martin Brannigan’s black card and points from Ronan Cox and Fahy (free) but Tyrone still led 2-5 to 0-4 at the interval.

Fahy struck an early brace of points in the second half to keep Roscommon’s hopes afloat, but Leo Meenan’s brace and a trademark O’Neill score helped Tyrone on their way.

Conor Gormley raided for Tyrone’s third goal to effectively seal the deal, but Roscommon continued to battle as three Ger Heneghan frees helped them add some gloss to the scoreline. However, Tyrone had the final say as Martin Taggart found the net in injury time to ensure Roscommon’s first All Ireland final ended in defeat.