Galway falter badly in chaotic climax
It’s easier being the hunter than the hunted, that’s for sure. A week after coming from 12points down against Kerry to snatch a draw, the Galway footballers let a 13-point lead slip against Roscommon on Saturday as Ciarán Lennon’s last- gasp winner now leaves the Tribesmen facing a fight for survival in Division 1.
Having built up a 0-19 to 0-6 lead after 40 minutes, Pádraic Joyce’s side looked to be cruising to victory. Not only were Galway motoring well, having found the target with 13 successive shots, but the strong wind which had helped the home side build that gap was steadily decreasing, leaving Roscommon’s decision to play against the elements in the first half look foolish.
As it turned out, the Rossies were more than capable of brewing up their own storm as the likes of Daire Cregg, Enda Smith and Diarmuid Murtagh dragged their side back into the contest. Cregg’s goal in the 65th minute capped a personal tally of 1-7 and put Roscommon in front, 2-15 to 0-20. A Seán Kelly point, one of only two Galway scores in the final 30 minutes, then set up a helter-skelter finish.
The final result could have gone either way but it was Roscommon who nicked it, thanks in no small part to some poor decision making and execution from their opponents. Johnny McGrath was the first culprit, attempting to force a sideline pass through to Daniel O’Flaherty in the final minute only to see it get cut out and end up with Ciarán Lennon putting Roscommon ahead.
There were still 35 seconds for Galway to create one more chance and they managed it, Shane McGrath and John Maher combining to find Oisín Mac Donnacha unmarked close to goal. A point down and facing a narrow angle, fisting the ball over the bar was the right option but Mac Donnacha instead shot straight at Aaron Brady in the Roscommon goal. The Galway substitute did gather the loose ball and could easily have been awarded a penalty when he was brought down but referee David Coldrick shook his head and the hooter sounded seconds later.
As poor as that final minute was from a Galway point of view, the period that really cost them on Saturday might have come a lot earlier. Despite the aid of a proper Atlantic gale, it took until the 10th minute for Galway to get off the mark, by which point Roscommon had opened up a two-point lead.
The Tribesmen eventually hit their groove around the 20-minute mark with Matthew Tierney and Liam Ó Conghaile firing over a pair of two pointers and with the Rossies struggling mightily on their own restarts, the scores kept coming. Ó Conghaile kicked another booming two-pointer in the 27th minute to put Galway seven ahead and the gap was 0-16 to 0-5 at the break.
A good start to the second half looked to have put Galway on their way but the Rossies started to turn things around and were given a big boost in the 48th minute when Enda Smith charged through the middle for the game’s first goal.
When Diarmuid Murtagh kicked a two-pointer a couple of minutes later, there was a sense of inevitably about the comeback, despite Roscommon still being six
points down by that point, and so it proved as Mark Dowd’s men notched up a third win on the trot.
Galway: E McGrath; S Fitzgerald, J McGrath, J Glynn; D McHugh (0-1), C Hernon, S Kelly (0-3); J Maher (0-3), M Tierney (0-2, 1tp); S McGrath (0-2), R Roche, C D’Arcy; R Finnerty (0-4), F McDonagh, L Ó Conghaile (0-6, 2tp). Subs: D O’Flaherty for Roche (25), C Power for McDonagh (56), K Molloy for Hernon (54 mins), P Conroy for D’Arcy (58), O Mac Donnacha for Ó Conghaile (65).
Roscommon: A Brady (0-1, 45); P Gavin, C Keogh, N Higgins; E Ward, R Daly, S Lambe; K Doyle, C Ryan; D Ruane (0-2, tp), E Smith (1-0), D Heneghan; D Murtagh (0-5, 1f, 1tp), D Cregg (1-7, 2fs), R Heneghan. Subs: for P Carey for D Heneghan (3), E Colleran for R Meneghan (54 mins), C Neary for Doyle (54), C Lennon (1-0) for Carey (53), J Duggan for Ryan (58 ).
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)