Longford seal Division Four title

Longford 2-11 Roscommon 1-8

Longford savoured a rare Croke Park triumph with a compelling second half performance which netted them the NFL Division Four title.

They took 35 minutes to score their first point, but once they got going, Roscommon had no answer to Glenn Ryan’s highly motivated side.

The Rossies will not be overly perturbed by this defeat. With promotion already secured, they were more concerned with avoiding injuries ahead of next weekend’s trip to New York, where they begin the defence of their Connacht SFC title.

Longford grabbed their first goal in the eighth minute when Paul Barden and wing back Shane Mulligan combined to send midfielder martin Brady in to hammer an angled shot past Geoffrey Claffey

That strike was cancelled out seven minutes later when Cathal Cregg turned over possession and Senan Kilbride walted through unopposed to blast to the roof of the net

Roscommon conceded a second goal on 20 minutes, Mulligan again the provider for skipper Barden to finish with a super strike.

Both sides created scoring opportunities, but a rash of wides from both had their fans in the small Croke Park attendance groaning with frustration.

Two Kevin Higgins points had the Connacht champions level by the 25th minute, and it took Longford 35 minutes to score their first point of the game, Sean McCormack’s two converted frees sending them in at the break with a 2-2 to 1-3 advantage.

McCormack had a chance to add to his side’s goal tally early in the second half, but his angled shot was kept out by Geoffrey Claffey

However, the points soon started to flow for Glenn Ryan’s side. Brian kavanagh steered over a couple, including a delightful lonmg range effort, while McCormack continued to find the range from frees, and added a neat point from play from a tight angle.

They had moved into a 2-9 to 0-3 lead, by the time Roscommon, still scoreless in the second half, were awarded a penalty for a foul on Cregg in the 50th minute.

Karol Mannion stepped up to take the kick, but his powerful strike was superbly saved by Damien Sheridan.

The Longford goalkeeper produced another stunning save to deny Cathal Cregg moments later, and as the Leinster side allowed the tempo to slip, Roscommon added late points through Cregg and Conor Devanney.

Longford: D Sheridan, D Brady, B Gilleran, D Reilly, S Mulligan, D Masterson, N Farrell, B McElvaney (0-1), M Brady (1-0), D Barden, P Dowd, P Barden (1-2), D McElligot, B Kavanagh (0-2), S McCormack (0-6, 2f).

Subs: K Diffley for Masterson, N Mulligan for D Barden, JJ Matthews for Dowd, P Foy for Farrell, F McGee for McCormack

Roscommon: G Claffey, S McDermott, P Domican, N Carty, S Purcell, D Keenan, D Warde (0-1), M Finneran, K Mannion, C Devanney (0-1), K Higgins (0-2), C Cregg (0-4), J Rogers, S Kilbride (1-0), D Shine.

Subs G Heneghan for Kilbride, S O’Grady for Rogers, I Kilbride for Purcell, E Kenny for Shine, I Kilbride for Devanney

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry)