Roscommon turn around 11-point deficit to beat Sligo in Connacht U20FC

Roscommon travel to Castlebar next week with huge momentum, Sligo will wonder how they succumbed to such a complete collapse

Roscommon manager Cian Smith. Pic: Bernie O'Farrell

Connacht U20FC: Roscommon 2-19 (2-4-11) Sligo 0-15 (0-5-5)

Even by modern standards, this turnaround felt remarkable. Converting an 11-point deficit into a comfortable win is not the headline news that it was two years ago, and like many similar resurrections, the wind was certainly a factor in the transformation.

But not since the story of the two elder siblings from the three little pigs has a house blown down so dramatically in the face of a breath of air.

Without doubt, Sligo used the breeze brilliantly in the first half. Eamon O’Mahony hooked over two majestic doubles with his left boot, Eli Rooney and Cian Nicholson got in on the act with orange flags of their own, but it looked like Sligo’s dominance was built on solid foundations.

Conor Walsh was a dominant presence in the middle with Eamon Keane driving forward effectively and while John Curran and John McGuinness were lively and keeping the visitors’ defence honest, there seemed to be enough variety in the Sligo attack to suggest that they would continue to be a threat.

At 0-14 to 0-3 approaching half-time, they weren’t going to need much more. Even when Colin Murray fired in a superb goal in first half stoppage time, it felt like a life raft, rather than a game changer.

Then the second half started with Eoin Collins flicking Niall Heneghan’s high ball to the Sligo net, and suddenly Roscommon had unstoppable momentum. Curran and McGuinness continued to buzz around effectively but Charlie O’Carroll took over the bulk of the scoring, with Sligo completely bereft of ideas at the other end.

Nikita Berzins focused entirely on shutting down Rooney while Eoghan Carthy, Diarmuid O’Higgins and Keelan Kelly all shone in defence in a second half that saw Roscommon score 1-16 while conceding a single point from a free.

They’ll travel to Castlebar next week with huge momentum, Sligo will wonder how they succumbed to such a complete collapse.

In tonight’s other fixture, Leitrim were forced to concede home advantage and move their clash with Galway to the Connacht COE in Bekan, where the Tribesmen ran out 2-11 to 0-11 winners.

Two goals in the space of four minutes approaching half-time settled an otherwise competitive fixture, where a pair of Paul Honeyman two-pointers had nudged Leitrim into a narrow lead.

Matthew Collins put Galway back 1-4 to 0-6 ahead with the first of two green flags, but it was Ciarán Mulhern’s slick run and his swift one-two with Killian Joyce that left Leitrim with a mountain to climb at half-time. 

Ronan Fox and Jack Kelly got some good scores for Leitrim in the second half but they always trailed by at least five points, meaning their first game in this campaign ended in defeat.

Scorers for Roscommon: C O’Carroll (0-8, 2tp, 2f, 1tpf), C Murray (1-2), J Curran (0-4, 1f, 1m), E Collins (1-0), C Grogan (0-2, 1tp), R Kilcline (0-1), J McGuinness (0-1), E Carthy (0-1).

Scorers for Sligo: E Rooney (0-6, 2tpf, 2f), E O’Mahony (0-4, 2tp), C Nicholson (0-2, 1tp), E Keane (0-1), A Lang (0-1), M Carroll (0-1).

ROSCOMMON: P Gaynor; N Berzins, M Gillooley, D O’Higgins; K Kelly, E Carthy, C Grogan; N Heneghan, C Murray; E Collins, J Curran, R Kilcline; J McGuinness, D Casey, C O’Carroll.

Subs: S Tighe for Curran (46), C McKeon for Casey (53), D Higgins for Collins (56), R Henry for Carthy (59), G Casey for Gillooley (60).

SLIGO: G Cummins; J McHugh, P Brady, J Lavin; E Keane, A Lillie, O Harte; C Walsh, C Nicholson; E O’Mahony, C Gilligan, D Mostyn; A Lang, M Carroll, E Rooney.

Subs: A Feeney for Lang (41), O Devlin for Mostyn (41), P Flynn for Nicholson (48), M Walsh for Carroll (53).

Referee: Michael McGirl (Leitrim).