Roscommon's second-half goal surge seals famous Connacht title

Strikes from Niall O’Donnell, Shane McGinley and Ryan Dowling broke Galway hearts.

Eirgrid Connacht U20 football final

Roscommon 3-13

Galway 0-17

Kevin Egan at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park

ROSCOMMON CAME OUT on top in memorable fashion against Galway thanks to three second-half goals from Niall O’Donnell, Shane McGinley and Ryan Dowling.

At half-time, the contest was still in the balance with Galway holding a narrow two-point lead, but the wind was set to favour the Tribesmen in the second half, and since they had responded brilliantly to the concession of the first four points of the game to build up that 0-8 to 0-6 advantage, it felt like momentum might also be enough to push Derek Savage’s side over the line.

However, this year’s Connacht U20 championship has been a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, and it was never going to be as simple as that.

Roscommon ended the first half with man of the match McGinley turning his man and pushing a goal chance just wide of Eamon McGrath’s far post. When he got turned and facing for goal from the left corner in the first minute of the second half, this time he floated the ball across to the far post, where O’Donnell was waiting to slam the ball into the net.

So began a thrilling 30 minutes of play, in which both sides produced some outstanding scores, but Roscommon’s ability to find the net proved to be the difference.

The points that Galway struck from players like Matthew Thompson, Fionn MacDonnacha and in particular Jack Mullen were right out of the top drawer, but Roscommon’s bench impact was crucial, with Ethan O’Reilly and Ryan Dowling making match-winning impacts.

The injection of energy from O’Reilly was palpable on the field and as the game teetered on the edge with Galway drawing level but never hitting the front, he helped set up some vital scores for McGinley and Rob Heneghan.

Dowling, just like Galway’s Ross Coen before him, turned his first possession into a magnificent solo point, and he also finished off the match-clinching third goal in the first minute of injury time, a score that turned a three-point lead into six, forcing Galway to chase Hail Mary high balls into the Roscommon box for the last four minutes of added time.

In between, McGinley crowned his man-of-the-match display with a neat finish giving Roscommon just enough breathing room to hold on.

McGinley was also on the scoresheet when Roscommon exploded out of the blocks in the opening minutes, firing over four points with their first five possessions, while denying Galway a shot on goal with each of their first five. Rory Hester and Senan Lambe also hoisted excellent kicks over the bar, but when Galway struck back, they did so with speed and precision.

Jack Mullen, fresh from his heroics in the semi-final against Sligo on the same field duly split the uprights with two tricky attempts from out on the right hand side, while Colm Costello also struck twice to level up the game.

Roscommon hit the next two points but again Galway struck four in a row before the interval, and it seemed like the foundations were laid for Galway’s first provincial title since 2020.

We had only been served the appetizer. A sumptuous main course was to follow, and one that will leave Roscommon supporters very satisfied indeed.

Scorers for Roscommon: Shane McGinley 1-6 (0-3f, 0-1m), Ryan Dowling 1-2, Niall O’Donnell 1-1, Rory Hester, Senan Lambe, Bobby Nugent (0-1m), Rob Heneghan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Galway: Jack Mullen, Matthew Thompson (0-2f) 0-4 each, Fionn Mac Donnacha (0-1m), Colm Costello (0-1f) 0-3 each, Mark Mannion 0-1, Shay McGlinchey 0-1, Ross Coen 0-1.

Roscommon

1 Seán Allen
2 Eden Kerins
19 James Connolly
4 Eoghan Carthy
9 Senan Lambe
3 Dan Casey
7 James McGreal
6 Conor Harley
8 Conor Ryan
12 Rory Hester
5 Dan Hagney
10 Rob Heneghan
13 Shane McGinley
14 Niall O’Donnell
15 Bobby Nugent

Subs:

Ethan O’Reilly for McGreal (half-time)
Ryan Dowling for Hagney (46)
Oisín O’Flaherty for Harley (51)
Shane Walsh for O’Donnell (57)
Rory Carthy for Hester (60)

Galway

1 Eamon McGrath
4 Darragh Costello
3 Brian Noone
2 Shane Canavan
7 Mark Mannion
9 Jack Lonergan
6 Jack Folan
8 Shay McGlinchey
11 Conor Heneghan
15 Ciarán Mulhern
10 Matthew Thompson
14 Cian Murphy
24 Jack Mullen
23 Fionn Mac Donnacha
12 Colm Costello