Christy Ring Cup (Round 2)
Meath 0-28 Roscommon 2-12
Seamus Duke in Ballyforan
A second loss for Roscommon senior hurlers in the Christy Ring Cup competition was not a particular shock against a slick Meath outfit at Ballyforan last Saturday, with man of the match Tom Shine scoring 12 points for the Royals.
Meath had lost to Kerry in round one, but they have been operating at a higher level than Roscommon in league and championship over the years, and would have been favoured to emerge victorious against the home side – and so it proved.
With high-flying Kerry coming to Ballyforan this weekend, it looks like it will be a case of Brian Hanley’s men targeting the final two matches (against Wicklow and Donegal) in their efforts to remain in this division in the championship going forward.
On a blustery but fine day in Ballyforan, Roscommon battled right to the finish – and a return of 2-12 was very respectable – but Meath were just too strong all over the field and they ran up a big score in the end.
The Royals’ excellent first touch and ability to find teammates with accurate passes, long and short, was key to this win. They had no less than ten different scorers on the day, with Tom Shine, Lorcan Byrne and Mark Leavy the pick of their attackers.
For Roscommon, the fact that they did not concede a goal was a tribute to some fine defensive work from the likes of goalkeeper Enda Lawless, Jack Dowling, Tommy Morris and Micheál Hussey, but it has to be said once Meath got momentum there only looked like being one winner from early in the proceedings.
Roscommon had an early tonic in the second minute when a blistering run from Darragh Finn ended with Conor Mulry bundling the ball into the Meath net.
But the Royals were unperturbed and they responded by tacking on eight points without reply. Conor Morris pointed two frees for the home side to stop that run, but with Tom Shine unerring for the visitors from the placed ball, it was 0-16 to 1-4 at half-time for Meath.
Roscommon played their best hurling in the third quarter. Pointed frees from Conor Morris and Adam Donnelly kept the scoreboard ticking over, and in the 47th minute Micheál Hussey finished an excellent team move to the net for a second Roscommon goal.
Two minutes later Roscommon had a golden opportunity to narrow the gap even further when Cian Murray was fouled and referee James Judge awarded the home side a penalty. But Adam Donnelly’s effort whizzed past the post and wide. After that it was plain sailing for Meath, who added a further eight points to their tally.
Next up it’s Kerry at home this Saturday. They look a cut above even Derry and Meath in this division so it will be a daunting prospect for Roscommon who were short a number of players last weekend. Roscommon will be hoping for a good performance against the Kingdom who will be hot favourites to remain unbeaten.
As team manager Brian Hanley said after last Saturday’s defeat, the final round games against Wicklow and Donegal look the crucial ties for Roscommon as they bid to stay in the Christy Ring Cup going forward.
Meath: Gavin King; Jarlath Ennis, Sean Geraghty, Lorcan O’Connor (0-1); Eoin Donegan, Daire Shine (0-2), Anthony Healy; Sean Coloe, Kyle Donnelly; Damien Healy (0-1), Lorcan Byrne (0-3), Tom Shine (0-12, 8 frees, 1 ’65); Mikey Cole (0-2), Darren O’Higgins (0-1), Mark Leavy (0-4). Subs: Simon Ennis for Donnelly (h/t), Kyle Ennis (0-1) for Cole (50), Joey Cole (0-1) for Donegan (58), Jack Walsh for Healy (64).
Roscommon: Enda Lawless; Micheál Hussey (1-0), James Dillon, Jack Dowling; Keelan Ryan, Tommy Morris, Darragh Finn; Ethan Connaughton, Cian Murray (0-1); Adam Donnelly (0-1, free), Cian Bowes, Seán Canning; Conor Mulry (1-0), Jason Martin, Conor Morris (0-8, all frees). Subs: Liam Óg Coyle for Bowes (25), Eamon Mulry for Connaughton (25), Ronan Finn (0-1) for C Mulry (56), Karl Fehily (0-1, free) for Ryan (65), Brian Lowlor for C Morris (72).
Referee: James Judge (Mayo).
Man of the Match
Tom Shine (Meath)
Hanley rues absence of key forwards, remains upbeat
Speaking to People Sport after the match, Roscommon manager Brian Hanley said the fact that a number of players had been unavailable was a crucial factor.
“They (Meath) were the better team on the day, but if we had all our players out there it would have been a different result I think. I thought we did well defensively but we cannot be missing four forwards and expect to win games like these.
“We hope to have those players back for the end of the championship. We won’t have them back for the next game but we hope to have them back for the last two games, which are crucial.”
Hanley conceded that taking on Kerry in their next fixture will be difficult.
“They are the best team in the division, but our focus now is on finishing well in the last two games against Donegal and Wicklow and to make sure we stay in this division.”
The manager maintained that despite the defeat, there was plenty to be positive about on foot of Roscommon’s display.
“We played well at times out there and we scored 2-12, but we need to be more clinical. We are doing a lot of the right things in games but we are having a bad run at the minute. I would be very confident about our performances going forward if we can get our strongest team out on the field” he concluded.
