The Roscommon team succeeded in seizing the third place in Group Two during All-Ireland Group 2, Round 3, outperforming Cavan in a thrilling match held at Pearse Park. 1-6 were contributed to the victory by Diarmuid Murtagh, making their first championship win in over a year. Despite their absence of notable forward player Paddy Lynch, Cavan put up a fierce opposition, showing prowess in attack.
Both teams sat even with a score of 0-4 each, 13 minutes into the game, with Roscommon’s scores attributed to Murtagh, Conor Cox (free) and Enda Smith. In defiance, Cormac O’Reilly, Gerard Smith, Oisín Kiernan and James Smith scored for Cavan. Points won by Murtagh, Shane Cunnane and Daire Cregg placed Roscommon ahead again until Cavan’s Ryan O’Neill narrowed the gap to two points.
A turning point in the first half occurred when Murtagh’s attempt for a point inadvertently made it past Cavan goalkeeper Gary O’Rourke, scoring a goal. Other high points included scores by Ultan Harney, Cregg, Murtagh and Donie Smith for Roscommon. Yet, Cavan remained in the game with scores from O’Rourke, alongside a pair from Smith, sitting at 1-11 to 0-10 at the half-time break.
Despite Roscommon failing to capitalise on a few opportunities at the commencement of the second half, they managed to break through Cavan’s defence. A key moment occurred when Enda Smith set up Brian Stack to score a vital goal after 40 minutes, thus securing a 2-11 to 0-12 lead for the Rossies. The nail-biting match attracted an impressive crowd of 3,962 viewers.
The match was an exciting one as both teams relentlessly drove points home, but the game took a dramatic turn when Dara McVeety, a substitute from Cavan, latched onto a crossfield pass from Luke Fortune and skilfully guided the ball past Carroll.
The game was poised on a knife-edge with just a single point difference, 2-15 to 1-17, as it hit the final quarter. However, the tide of victory soon turned towards Roscommon, when Enda Smith scored a decisive goal that broke Cavan’s spirited defence.
After stepping onto the field, Ciarán Lennon and Andrew Glennon added points for Roscommon. The phenomenal player of the match, Murtagh increased his evening’s total to 1-6, sealing Roscommon’s slot in the upcoming preliminary quarter-finals at the weekend.
Featuring for Roscommon were C Carroll, N Higgins, R Fallon, R Dolan, D Murray, B Stack, E McCormack, D Ruane, S Cunnane, D Cregg, D Murtagh, E Smith, C Cox, U Harney, D Smith and substitutes R Daly, C Lennon, A Glennon, N Daly and A McDermott.
Meanwhile, representing Cavan were G O’Rourke, L Fortune, B O’Connell, J McLoughlin, P Faulkner, N Carolan, O Kiernan, C Brady, R Donohoe, R O’Neill, C Madden, G Smith, O Brady, J Smith, C O’Reilly with substitutes T Madden, D Lovett, D McVeety, Conor Madden and O Kiernan.
Official: D. Gough from Meath.