Roscommon rout leaves Cork red-faced

Roscommon 4-25 Cork 3-10: Fergal O’Donnell has been involved in his fair share of one-sided encounters; Roscommon’s 11-point hammering at the hands of Mayo in the 1999 Connacht championship springs to mind, even fresher are the scars of the 3-18 to 0-7 rout by the same opposition 10 years later.

Yesterday was another to add to the list, though this time O’Donnell stood on the sunny side of a landslide. His Roscommon charges had a remarkable 18 points to spare over their hosts come the final whistle. Indeed, twice in the second-half their advantage stretched to 20 points.

A total of 25 of their 29 scores arrived from open play, including their entire first-half tally of 2-13. Three of their defence etched their names onto the scoresheet, while every member of the starting front six and midfield were on the mark by the 57th minute. This was an afternoon when the Rossies could do no wrong.