Roscommon edge past Leitrim to reach Connacht U-20 football semi-final

Roscommon 3-6 (3-0-6)

Leitrim 2-7 (2-1-5)

Dalata Hotel Group Connacht U-20 Football Championship

Roscommon just about did enough to set up a Connacht semi-final against Galway after overcoming Leitrim in tough conditions at King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park.

A fine defensive shift in the opening 30 minutes allowed John Curran and John McGuinness to grab the necessary scores to ensure Roscommon were in the box seat at half time.

But Leitrim, who needed to win by seven points to reach the semi-final, were much better on the resumption, helped by the introduction of senior panelist, Jack Kelly, but they had left themselves with too much to do.

The opening quarter was played in a torrential downpour, leaving the Hyde's usually pristine surface badly cut up through the middle, and it was no surprise that a couple of mistakes contributed to early scores for both sides.

John Curran opened Roscommon’s account but Leitrim replied in the seventh minute when midfielder Colm McLoughlin’s shot evaded the grasp of Patrick Gaynor and ended up in the net.

Another error was central to the next score — a Roscommon goal.

Dean Casey and Curran combined down the left flank, with the latter’s goalbound shot rebounding off Leitrim full-back Eanna McNamara and back into Curran’s path, who gleefully accepted the gift and raised a green flag.

Roscommon were doing well defensively, restricting Leitrim’s ability to create scores. But they could do nothing about Adam Gethins’ excellent effort from the right, which split the posts to restore parity by the 16th minute.

In the second quarter, as the weather slowly improved, Roscommon made their burst for home.

Curran continued on his merry way with a point after another Roscommon turnover before Eoin Collins and Keelan Kelly teed up the Castlerea St. Kevin’s forward for his and the home side’s second goal.

John McGuinness shared the scoring burden with a well-worked score, but Leitrim ended a ten-minute scoring famine with a good point from centre-forward Ruairi O’Rourke.

But Roscommon soon scored a third goal when McGuinness did brilliantly to take possession on the run, and his deflected shot got the better of Leitrim goalkeeper Scott Kerr to leave Cian Smith’s side 3-3 to 1-2 ahead at the change of ends.

Roscommon only scored three times in the second half, with a double from Curran, which included a free, taking his tally to 2-4, while wing-back Keelan Kelly also pitched in with an excellent score.

But Kelly’s arrival signalled an improvement in Leitrim's fortunes up front. A two-pointer was followed by a point, while Ronan Fox and Paul Honeyman (free) also troubled the scoreboard.

Then, deep into injury time, Frankie McGuinness scored a consolation goal for Leitrim but Roscommon had done enough to set up a semi-final against the Tribesmen, with Mayo awaiting the winners in the final.

ROSCOMMON: P. Gaynor; D. O’Higgins, M. Gillooly, N. Berzins; K. Kelly (0-1), E. Carthy, C. Grogan; N. Heneghan, C. Enright; C. McKeon, D. Casey, E. Collins; J. Curran (2-4, one free), S. Tighe, J. McGuinness (1-1). Subs used: S. McDonnell for Tighe (39 mins), C. Murray for Carthy (39 mins), L. Finneran for O’Higgins (45 mins), D. Higgins for Enright (49 mins), K. Hester for Casey (53 mins).

LEITRIM: S. Kerr; L. Braam-Farrell, E. McNamara, O. Foley; R. Fox (0-1), D. Greenan, C. McMorrow; D. Gardiner, C. McLoughlin (1-0); J. McBrien, R. O’Rourke (0-1), B. McBride; P. Honeymoon (0-1, one free), F. McManus (1-0), A. Gethins (0-1). Subs used: D. Wesley for Grennan (28 mins), J. Kelly (0-3, one 0-2) for O’Brien (half-time), G. Gallagher for Gardiner (36 mins), N. Cox for McBride (59 mins).

Referee: J. Molloy (Galway).

*Match report and reaction in Tuesday's Roscommon Herald