There were no surprises in Pearse
Stadium on Sunday
as Galway eased passed a poor Roscommon side.
Sixteen points separating the two teams as the final
whistle blew. Galway has not won by such a margin
over the rossies since the early 1930's. And up
until the second half it looked as if it was going
to be a much closer encounter. Just two points
separated the teams at half time but a devastating
second-half scoring spree from Galway saw the
Tribesmen move to a Connacht semi final against
Leitrim. The match was over for Roscommon by the 58
minute when Matthew Clancy scored Galway's first
Goal. The Roscommon camp must have went into the
dressing room at half time feeling positive.
Although Galway had the majority of procession in
the first half the score board was not reflective of
this. Roscommon only trailed by two points. Galway's
Michael Meehan opened the point's board with a free
in the fifth minute. He went on to successfully
score another free in the sixth minute. The only way
the Roscommon backs seamed to be able to stop Galway
from scoring was by creating fouls and to a certain
extent this paid off in the first half. Only two of
Galway's first half points were scored from play. At
the other end of the pitch Roscommon's full forward
line, made up of Senan Kilbride, Johnny Dunning and
Roscommon's 2006 minor star Donal Shine saw little
of the ball in the first twenty minutes. Although a
goal chance was created in the eight minute by the
rossies it came to nothing and in the 20 minute
Senan Kilbribe opened their scoreboard with a point
from play. Galway's domination seemed to be slipping
away from them as Roscommon scored another three
points unanswered. Galway didn't score again in the
first half. At the interval Roscommon trailed by
just two. The second half started the same way as the
first. Galway dominated all areas of the field and
soon started to add more points to the board. Their
first point of the second half came form Barry
Cullinane and they added another four points without
reply. In the 48 minute Roscommon scored what was to
be one of only two points in the second half. A free
taken by Gerard Heneghan went over the cross
bar. When Roscommon's Gary Cox was sent off for a
second yellow card after an incident with Galway's
Barry Cullinane, it was a blow they could not
recover from. Galway continued to rack up the scores
and the match was well and truly over when Matthew
Clancy scored a goal after a well placed kick from
Fiachra Breathnach in the 58 minute. To add insult to
injury for the rossies, substitute Niall Coleman
added another goal in injury time. Mathew Clancy
earned a man of the match performance after playing
what is now seen as the pivotal 'third midfielder'
position and scoring 1-3.Roscommon manager of almost
a month, Michael Ryan always had an enviable task on
his hands. The team has been drifting from one
crisis to another over the past 12 months and
matters really hit rock bottom during the league
with only one win and relegation. This year marks the
tenth anniversary since Galway's footballers closed
that 32-year gap and claimed Sam Maguire for the
first time since the famous three in a row era of
the 1960s. New Galway manager Liam Sammon is a link
with that 1998 team and appears to have brought a
new freshness to the Galway Team. It is widely
believed that Galway are one of the few counties
that have any hope of stopping Kerry achieving a
three in a row. Although they towered over Roscommon
it remains to be seen how they will fare against
some of the bigger teams. A semi final for Galway
against Leitrim who defeated New York in front of a
packed Gaelic Park in the Bronx last Sunday is set
to take place on June 15 in Pearse Stadium. For
Roscommon a chance to regroup and hope for a decent
run in the qualifiers. The 2006 minor team has some
maturing to do and if some of the other issues that
form a backdrop to the county's football fortunes
can find resolution then Roscommon fans can look
forward to better days.
Final Score in Pearse
Stadium Galway 1-16 Roscommon 0-06.
Roscommon:
G Claffey, P O'Connor, D Keenan, S McDermott, J
Rogers, M O'Carroll (O'Gara 20), D Hoey, S O'Neill,
K Mannion, (Finneran 52) C Devaney, G Cox, C Cregg,
S Kilbride, J Dunning, (Connellan 64) D Shine
(Heneghan 35).
Scorers:
Kilbride 0-03, Heneghan 0-02 (2f) Mannion 0-01.
Galway:
Doherty P, Fitzgerald K, Hanley F, Bradshaw G,
Meehan D, Coyle N, (Coleman 67) Sice G, (Mullahy 67)
Cullinane B, Lydon M, Dunleavy D, (Bane 35) Joyce P,
Conroy P, Clancy M, (Joyce N 63) Meehan M,
Breathnach F.
Scorers:
Clancy 1-3, Conroy 0-6 (4f), Meehan 0-5 (2f, 2 45),
Coleman 1-0, Joyce 0-2.
