Mourne men roast Roscommon
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
DOWN 2-24 ROSCOMMON 1-12.
THIS game was a must win game for Down after a disappointing start to their campaign and the Mourne men put in an excellent performance against Roscommon, writes Paul Rooney.
The game itself at Pairc Esler was delayed because of the huge numbers attending the St Patrick's Day parade in the city centre, causing both officials and the Roscommon team to arrive late.
After a shaky start Down did eventually settled into the game with two points from Paul Branniff and one each for James Coyle and Danny Toner.
Roscommon still held a strangle hold in midfield and added two points to their tally, both coming from
Adrain Murphy who was a late replacement for Cillian Egan.
Down then got a grip of the game and had a purple patch with points coming from Johnston, Toner, Savage and another two from Braniff sandwiched in between a goal from Danny Toner when he out-caught the defender and turned, leaving him bearing down on the Roscommon net and he duly displaced to the roof of the net with a great finish.
Roscommon did respond with scores from Lawlor and Cathal Kelly, but they could not contain this Down side when they got into their stride and the Mourne men finished the half with points from Braniff and Johnston.
Just before the sides went in for half-time Down added their second goal; a long ball was played in from Ciaran Coulter and as it rebounded of the upright Magic Johnston was on hand to gather up the loose ball and finish superbly to the net leaving Down firmly in control at the break
Half-time: Down 2-12 Roscommon 0-09
Down started the second half in similar fashion and with another four points from Braniff and were much in control, but Roscommon kept plugging away and had a goal chance well saved by Down keeper Paddy McNally.
Cathal Kelly added a point to reduce Down's lead to 10 points, but they would not score again until the last five minutes.
Down had two great scores from Michael Ennis who had eventually got a foothold at midfield and they also knocked over points from Braniff, Johnston and Michael Turley, who came on as a sub to stretch their lead.
With five minutes remaining Roscommon bagged a goal and two-points from Kelly, who was their best player on the day
Down finished with a point from another one of their substitutions Paul Sheehan to wrap up the scoring and secure their first points from this years' Division Two B campaign.
Elsewhere in the same division, Armagh lost away to Mayo and are still in search of their first win in the National Hurling League.
Subscribe to read full newspaper »
Send to a friend
Please complete the following form to inform a friend about this page.
