No lead safe as Rossies come roaring back to reel in Galway

Had the Connacht champions been more accurate early on, a 0-16 to 0-5 half-time lead could have been anything. After the break, Roscommon proved that no lead is safe.

Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 - 21:26

Maurice Brosnan

National Football League Division 1: Roscommon 2-16 (2-2-12) Galway 0-21 (0-3-15)

Here we go again. Welcome to the new world where no lead is safe. Eleven points up at half-time, 13 points up after 40 minutes, none of it matters. It was never enough for Galway. Roscommon hauled them in.

Daire Cregg led the way with 1-7. It was a result and performance the sizeable travelling support in the 6,043-strong crowd can take pride in. They came to Salthill without their St Brigid’s players and secured a third victory in a row. Monaghan, Armagh and Galway all downed. What a start for the first native boss to take sole management of the county team since Des Newton in 2012.

Mark Dowd made a series of calculated gambles here from the start. Diarmuid Murtagh won the toss and opted to play into the teeth of a powerful wind and driving rain. They suffered a further blow when Darragh Heneghan pulled up clutching at his lower leg in the opening minutes.

The story of the first half was Aaron Brady’s thankless task of booting out the ball, over and over. Galway won 11 of Roscommon’s first half kickouts and turned that into 10 shots. Roscommon’s ability to turn seven Galway kickouts into 1-2 in the second half and concede nothing from their own was crucial.

Even still, had the Connacht champions been more accurate early on, a 0-16 to 0-5 half-time lead could have been anything.

A Robert Finnerty point off his right was their only score from their first seven shots. Fionn McDonagh was denied by Brady in a one-on-one goal chance. They missed three two point efforts but eventually recovered to land three. The pick of them was a boomer from Liam Ó Conghaile who kicked five points in five minutes, including two from outside the arc.

Dylan McHugh repeatedly drove down the right wing in a bid to set up Matthew Tierney, who also raised an orange flag. At the other end, Cregg was doing his utmost to keep Roscommon in touch.

Johnny McGrath is an outstanding man-marker. The Boyle was continually asking him to dig deep into his locker. He won and converted a free to start the comeback. A Conor Ryan catch sent Enda Smith away for a stunning goal and Murtagh added a two-pointer to tee up a grandstand finish.

Smith was awesome here. He created Cregg’s late goal. Ciaran Lennon came off the bench to put them one clear. Galway had a late chance to equalise but Oisin Mac Donnacha went for goal instead, a decision that carried the last flicker of their hopes wide.

Long after the final whistle, the likes of Cregg, Murtagh and Smith were still signing autographs on the field. The fact Pearse Stadium’s floodlights had switched off hardly mattered. At the halfway point of the league, the relegation contenders are now moving firmly in one direction. Looking up.

Scorers for Galway: L. Ó Conghaile 0-6 (2 tp); R. Finnerty 0-4; S. Kelly 0-3; M. Tierney 0-3 (1tp); S. McGrath, J. Maher 0-2 each; D. McHugh 0-1.

Scorers for Roscommon: D. Cregg 1-7 (2 f); D. Murtagh 0-5 (1 tp, 1f); E. Smith 1-0; D. Ruane 0-2 (tp); C. Lennon, A. Brady (45) 0-1 each.

GALWAY: E. McGrath; J. McGrath, S. Fitzgerald, J. Glynn; D. McHugh, C. Hernon, S. Kelly; J. Maher, M. Tierney; S. McGrath, R. Roche, C. D’Arcy; R. Finnerty, F. McDonagh, L. Ó Conghaile.

Subs: D. O’Flaherty for Roche (25); C. Power for McDonagh (46); K. Molloy for Hernon (54); P. Conroy for D’Arcy (58); O. Mac Donnacha for Ó Conghaile (60).

ROSCOMMON: A. Brady; P. Gavin, C. Keogh, N. Higgins; E. Ward, R. Daly, S. Lambe; K. Doyle, C. Ryan; D. Ruane, E. Smith, D. Heneghan; D. Murtagh, D. Cregg, R. Heneghan.

Subs: P. Carey for Heneghan (2 – Inj); E. Colleran for Heneghan, C. Neary for Doyle (both 45); C. Lennon for Carey (53); J. Duggan for Ryan (58);

Referee: D. Coldrick (Meath).