Roscommon SFC: Pádraig Pearses shut St. Faithleach's down to seal final berth

Niall Daly of Padraig Pearses. Pic: Tom Maher/Inpho

Roscommon SFC semi-final: Pádraig Pearses 1-9 St. Faithleach’s 0-3 

The attacking prowess of a St. Faithleach’s side that scored 3-17 in their thrilling quarter-final win over Clann na nGael was considered to be a real threat to Pádraig Pearses in advance of this afternoon’s semi-final clash at Dr. Hyde Park, but the 2021 Connacht champions completely locked them down instead as they cruised to a nine-point win.

With a strong breeze at their backs in the opening half, Pearses fired over four points in the first 12 minutes, but St. Faithleach’s successfully slowed the game down and killed the tempo up until the interval, and could arguably have been the happier side of the two with the scoreboard reading 0-6 to 0-1.

Centre-back Darren Nerney strode forward to kick a fine score in the fourth minute of the second half and the key moment was two minutes later, when Diarmuid Murtagh’s attempt on goal was denied by a superb block from Niall Daly.

Neither Diarmuid nor Ciaráin Murtagh had any other scoring chances as Pearses took complete control of proceedings, monopolising possession and wearing down their opponents until Declan Kenny’s incisive run and precise low finish for the game’s only goal effectively settled the contest with 15 minutes still to play.

Scorers for Pádraig Pearses: P Carey 0-4 (0-3f), D Kenny 1-1, E Colleran 0-1f, J Tumulty 0-1, A McGreal 0-1m, L Daly 0-1.

Scorers for St. Faithleach’s: K Farrell 0-1, D Nerney 0-1, J Hussey 0-1.

PÁDRAIG PEARSES: P Whelan; G Downey, N Carty, D Murray; D Kenny, C Keogh, C Harley; C Ryan, N Daly; C Daly, R Daly, A McGreal; E Colleran, P Carey, J Tumulty.

Subs: S Canning for Colleran (44), L Daly for Harley (50), J Nevin for Tumulty (55), C Lohan for Downey (55), M Richardson for McGreal (57).

ST. FAITHLEACH’S: A Manning; K Farrell, P Farrell, K Nerney; J Browne, D Nerney, M Dunne; C Kennelly, C Glennon; J Hussey, C Murtagh, C Gunn; D Murtagh, D Rooney, J Murray.

Subs: B Murtagh for Hussey (44), D Harrison for Dunne (47), A Dooney for Rooney (52), D Hussey for Manning (53), J Hussey for Murray (56).

Referee: Ian Monaghan.