Pádraig Pearses 1-11 Roscommon Gaels 1-9
Pádraig Pearses overcame Storm Ashley and a brave second-half comeback from Roscommon Gaels to win their third Fahey Cup in six seasons at Dr. Hyde Park.
Frank Canning's side, led by Eoin Colleran who pitched in with 1-03 over the hour, were in control for the bulk of the contest but Roscommon Gaels never threw in the towel, coming with a late scoring burst that turned a comfortable advantage into a potentially precarious one.
But they held their nerve as late points from Paul Carey (free) and substitute Jack Nevin got them over the line in the Hyde Park wind and rain.
While it eventually turned into a gripping contest, Pádraig Pearses had one hand on the Fahey Cup at half-time.
Despite the worsening conditions, Canning’s men used all their experience to control the tempo and, more importantly, possession.
With Niall Daly and Niall Carty pulling the strings, Pearses slowly went about putting a buffer between the teams.
Niall Daly and Peter Gillooly, from a free, swapped early points but from there, Pearses took over.
Ronan Daly split the posts after being picked out by Colleran before the latter exchanged passes with David Murray to push his side 0-03 to 0-01 ahead after 12 minutes.
Pearses’ dominance continued as a big turnover on Senan Lambe by Declan Kenny ignited a move that resulted in a fisted point for Adam McGreal.
In the 16th minute, Pearses were really in the box seat when Carey did brilliantly to gather possession and set sail for goal. His shot was saved by Roscommon Gaels goalkeeper, James Fetherstone, but Colleran was on hand to fire the rebound into an empty net.
Just when it looked like Roscommon Gaels might be cast adrift, they were handed a lifeline in the 20th minute when Mark Healy’s attempt for a point was batted out by Pádraig Pearses goalkeeper, Paul Whelan. John McGuinness picked up the rebound and blasted the ball to the roof of the net.
But Pearses reasserted their superiority with a couple of frees from Carey, and another from play by Colleran left them 1-07 to 1-01 ahead at the change of ends.
Both teams shared two points each in the third quarter — John McGuinness and Mark Purcell (free) adding to Roscommon Gaels’ tally, while Carey (free) and Colleran, with an effort that appeared wide, responded for Pearses.
Then, out of nowhere, Roscommon Gaels found the resolve to mount a stirring comeback.
Points from substitute Rory Carthy (free), Mark Purcell (one from play and one from a free), Ryan Conlon and the excellent McGuinness in jig time left just a point in it, 1-09 to 1-08, with five minutes remaining.
But the 2021 Connacht club champions used all their experience to quell the Gaels rebellion, and those late points from Carey (free) and Nevin confirmed Pearses as the undisputed kingpins of Roscommon club football.
Pádraig Pearses: Paul Whelan; Gavin Downey, Niall Carty, David Murray; Declan Kenny, Caelim Keogh, Conor Harley; Conor Ryan, Niall Daly (0-01); Conor Daly, Ronan Daly (0-01), Adam McGreal (0-01); Eoin Colleran (1-03), Paul Carey (0-04f), Jack Tumulty.
Subs: Seán Canning for McGreal (44), Jack Nevin (0-01) for Tumulty (55), Conor Lohan for Harley (58), Mark Richardson for Downey (62), Emmett Kelly for Colleran (62).
Roscommon Gaels: James Fetherstone; Cathal Dineen, James Connolly, Eoghan Carthy; Senan Lambe, John McManus, Tim Lambe; Mark Purcell (0-03, 2f), Mark Healy; John McGuinness (1-02), Scott Oates, Ryan Conlon (0-01); Cian Connolly, Peter Gillooly (0-01, 0-01f), Richard Walsh.
Subs: Kieran Kilcline for Gillooly (37), Conor Grogan for Dineen (42), Rory Carthy (0-02, 0-02f) for Walsh (49), Ronan Gleeson for Oates (54).
Referee: Dermot Lyons
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