Dolan delights as Roscommon rise again

Roscommon 1-18, Kildare 0-19 (after extra time)

It didn’t need winning manager Tom Carr to say that it was unfortunate there had to be a loser. Kildare, at a time when they had an extra man, seemed to be set for victory at the end of normal time until Dolan kicked a magnificent equalising score. And, once Roscommon were restored to full strength, they seized the initiative in extra time and never looked like yielding.

It may be over-simplifying it to credit Dolan with making the essential difference on the night, given that scores had been level nine times in the opening 70 minutes and that a mere two points separated the sides at the finish. But, few players at this level would have taken the score which saved Roscommon and he was to end the game with 13 points. Interestingly, he joked afterwards that in a club game last week he had missed two kicks from a similar position. “Anyone who doubted the character of this team saw it tonight. There was always heart in the team, under former managers Gay Sheerin, Martin McDermott and John Tobin. It was just Tommy Carr put the finishing touch on it,” he commented.