Roscommon 3-13 Galway 0-17
Roscommon claimed a terrific Connacht U-20 title as three second-half goals laid the platform for a famous victory at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
Noel Dunning's side, despite a surge of energy early on, trailed by two points at the break, but three second-half goals from Niall O’Donnell, Shane McGinley and substitute Ryan Dowling sealed a famous win.
Galway kicked all but four of their 17 points from play, but their aspirations were unravelled by Roscommon’s ability to find the net at crucial junctures of the second period.
The winners made a blistering start with early points from Senan Lambe, Rory Hester and Shane McGinley. When McGinley tagged on his side’s fourth point, from a free, after only seven minutes, Galway had yet to register a shot of note.
But once the Tribesmen found their range, they quickly wiped out that deficit with a couple of scores each from the impressive Jack Mullen and Colm Costello.
A mark apiece by McGinley and team captain, Bobby Nugent, restored Roscommon’s lead but Galway hit the next four points through Fionn MacDonnacha, Shay McGlinchey, Mark Mannion and MacDonnacha (mark) to lead 0-08 to 0-06 at the break.
Two minutes after the restart, Roscommon were motoring again when great work by McGinley allowed Niall O’Donnell palm the ball into the net.
McGinley added a free before Rob Heneghan flashed a shot over the bar to open up a three-point lead for the "Primrose and Blue".
Both Ross Coen and Ryan Dowling marked their introductions with scores for their respective sides, but with Roscommon leading by 1-10 to 0-12, McGinley pounced for a second goal after Conor Ryan and Conor Harley did well in the build-up.
Galway came again with Mullen, MacDonnacha and Colm Costello kicking some incredible scores but Roscommon sealed the win when a crucial turnover procured a goal for Ryan Dowling in injury time.
Roscommon now play Ulster champions, Tyrone, in the All-Ireland in the All-Ireland semi-final at Kingspan Breffni on Saturday next at 5 p.m..
Roscommon: Seán Allen; Eden Kerins, James Connolly, Eoghan Carthy; Senan Lambe (0-01), Dan Casey, James McGreal; Conor Harley, Conor Ryan; Rory Hester (0-01), Daniel Hagney, Rob Heneghan (0-01); Shane McGinley (1-06, 3f, 1m) Niall O’Donnell (1-01), Bobby Nugent (0-01, 1m).
Subs: Ethan O’Reilly for McGreal (35), Ryan Dowling (1-02) for Hagney (45), Oisín O’Flaherty for Harley (50), Shane Walsh for O’Donnell (57), Rory Carthy for Hester (59).
Galway: Eamon McGrath; Darragh Costello, Brian Noone, Shane Canavan; Mark Mannion (0-01), Jack Lonergan, Jack Folan; Shay McGlinchey (0-01), Conor Heneghan; Ciarán Mulhern, Matthew Thompson (0-04, 0-02 frees), Cian Murphy; Jack Mullen (0-04), Fionn MacDonnacha (0-03, 1m), Colm Costello (0-03, 1f).
Subs: Daithi Kilcommins for Heneghan (35), Ross Coen (0-01) for Folan (41), Luc O’Connor for Mannion (48), Ronan Colleran for Murphy (53), Niall Mannion for Costello (60).
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
