Boyle eye first senior county final in 95 years after statement victory

They ran riot against Clann na nGael. 

MOTORING: Roscommon star Donie Smith was on form.

Two new faces threw themselves into the mix for the Roscommon senior football honours this year after Boyle and Roscommon Gaels delivered eye-catching wins on the final weekend of round robin action.

Hopes will be particularly high in Boyle that the club can reach a first county senior final for 95 years after they put Clann na nGael to the sword in Dr. Hyde Park, 4-18 to 1-11.

County U-20 star Daire Cregg, who scored 2-5 in his first championship appearance of the season, scored 3-4 from play in this, his second start, while Roscommon colleagues Donie Smith (1-4) and Cian McKeon (0-4) were also on fire for the north Roscommon side.

Clann could muster very little by way of response, with a second half injury to McKeon the only cloud on Boyle’s horizon.

Roscommon Gaels manager Frankie Dolan was able to welcome back Peter Gillooly and Cian Connolly to his team for their group game with Michael Glaveys, and the two attackers repaid his faith in style, with Gillooly scoring 1-6 while Connolly added two goals in a 4-15 to 2-8 win. The result condemns Glaveys to a playoff fixture against St. Faithleach’s this coming week, with the last quarter-final place up for grabs.

Reigning Connacht IFC champions St. Faithleach’s themselves edged out Western Gaels by 1-15 to 1-13 to keep their championship dreams alive, though Cathal Cregg, who was a key figure for Western Gaels, had the chance to secure the win but he blasted the ball wide in injury time from pointblank range. Eight minutes of injury time were played and Faithleach’s finished with a flourish with points from Diarmuid Murtagh (2) and David Rooney to snatch a win.

Western Gaels will now have to face Elphin in the relegation semi-final, with the losing club taking on Tulsk, who conceded an early 1-2 to St. Brigid’s but then rallied against the championship favourites, only to fall agonisingly short, 1-10 to 0-12.

Pádraig Pearses claimed second spot in Section C and an automatic quarter-final place when they edged out Strokestown by 1-14 to 0-15, thanks to consecutive points in the 5th minute of injury time from substitutes Matthew Feehily and Emmett Kelly. Meanwhile the only game on Friday night was a dead rubber, which saw Oran beat Elphin by 2-15 to 2-7.

The results mean that Boyle, Oran and St. Brigid’s have secured quarter-final seeding, with one out of Roscommon Gaels, Pádraig Pearses and Clann na nGael to join them in that pot. Strokestown are also into the quarter-finals as an unseeded team, to be joined by one of St. Faithleach’s and Michael Glaveys.