Shine leads Roscommon to win over London

London 0-6 Roscommon 0-14

Roscommon got the required result but not the performance as they overcame London at sunny Ruislip this afternoon.

Fergal O'Donnell's men set up a Connacht SFC semi-final clash with Leitrim on June 20, with free-taker Donie Shine (0-9) leading the scoring.

Both sides struggled to cope with a strong wind and Shine was the only scorer in a subdued opening 25 minutes.

The visitors took an 0-8 to 0-2 interval lead, and although London rallied towards the end, Derek Hayden's penalty miss summed up their day.

Carlow native Hayden had goalkeeper Geoffrey Claffey beaten but his 58th minute effort struck the post for a London side that trailed by 0-12 to 0-2 at that stage.

Shine, team captain Peter Domican and man-of-the-match Stephen Ormsby were Roscommon’s leading performers, but O’Donnell’s charges will take little momentum from this Championship opener.

Roscommon lost wing back Mark O’Carroll to a first-minute injury and they endured a lacklustre start overall, struggling to cope with the brisk wind blowing towards them.

Shine hit the woodwork with a free and the wind pushed his ‘45’ effort to the right and wide, before Roscommon net minder Claffey sprung to his right to deny London wing forward Brian Smyth.

London showed their teeth in attack as Cathal Cregg was dispossessed and wing back Noel Tuohy threaded a superb ball through for Smyth whose powerful shot was bound for the top corner.

Shine missed a third placed ball, in between two London wides, and the post thwarted him again as the game remained scoreless.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 16th minute - the prominent Shine unsurprisingly on target, after Sean Purcell had pounced on a loose ball.

Karol Mannion, who missed most of the National League, was involved in the build-up for Shine’s second point from play, and Heneghan was the only other Roscommon player to shoot at the target in a wind-dominated opening 21 minutes.

With the elements behind him, Paul Geraghty thumped over an 80-yard free to open London’s account in the 26th minute and a second free from Hayden followed barely a minute later.

But Roscommon managed to boss midfield for the remainder of the first period and with their forwards running with increasing intent, Shine’s placed ball accuracy helped them into a comfortable lead.

Hayden made a poor connection with a close range free and two frees from Shine, at the other end, took the Rossies ahead. The visitors took their wides tally to six in injury-time, but points from Mannion, Heneghan and Shine made it a six-point game by the break.

A goal-scoring chance was engineered for John Rogers but the ball did not fall for him and Paul Garvey, who set up Heneghan’s point, also struck the woodwork.

The game lulled along in the third quarter, with both sides struggling to play to a Championship standard and London got no reward for their few attacks.

Shine’s early free was the only score during the opening 15 minutes after half-time, and a scrappy and ultimately disappointing second half ensued.

Cathal Dineen landed his first Championship score, set up by Cathal Cregg, and Heneghan and Shine tagged on two more as Roscommon made it 0-12 to 0-2 coming up to the hour mark.

Full-back Domican was whistled up for a foul on Hayden, but the latter’s penalty effort met the post and London had to settle for a pointed free from corner forward Eoin O’Neill.

The Exiles, managed by Noel Dunning, were hoping to annex their first Championship win since they shocked Leitrim in Carrick-on-Shannon 33 years ago.

A late spurt revived their hopes as points from Niall Egan and Eamon O Cuiv closed the gap to seven points with seven minutes remaining. However, Roscommon were never in danger as their 21-year-old full-forward Shine pointed them home.