Superb Ros' minors

Another week of what could have been for the Roscommon minors. Having left the Connacht title behind them at Pearse Stadium and subsequently Dr. Hyde Park, Roscommon were again left to wonder "what if?". But while Gary Wynne's men were atrocious against Mayo in the replay, they were quite magnificent against Kerry at Croke Park on Monday. Dominating possession for large spells, Roscommon will wonder just how they didn't come away with the victory against a Kerry side that, Eanna O'Connor (son of Jack O'Connor) aside, wasn't all that special. Again, poor shooting let Roscommon down just as it had in the Connaught final against Mayo. Fourteen wides were registered in all but, that said, they can be extremely proud of their efforts which, on Monday, were nothing short of magnificent. Niall Kilroy was arguably the best Roscommon player on show. The St. Ciaran's man registered four points from play and absolutely ran his man ragged for the total 80 minutes. Cathal Shine was dominant out around midfield before reverting back to full-forward to score a dramatic equalising goal to force extra-time, while centre-back Niall Daly put in a terrific day's work. Shooting into the Canal End, Kerry got off to a flyer and were soon two points to the good with the points coming from Donal O'Sullivan and Eanna O'Connor. Supporters would have been forgiven at this stage for thinking that it could have been a long sixty minutes for Roscommon. And it might just have been had it not been for goalkeeper Naas Connaughton, who pulled off a good save down low to his right from O'Connor on three minutes. Almost immediately down the other end, Roscommon settled their nerves when Kilroy took on and beat his man before punching the ball over the bar once the angle became too tight. A Daniel Qualter free from all of 55 yards on 7 minutes restored parity once again gave Roscommon a foothold as they finally settled into the game. Kerry restored their lead on 11 minutes through a routine O'Connor free with the dangerous corner-forward pointing nicely again three minutes later. Ciaran Cafferkey was the man given the unenviable task of marking O'Connor and so far the Kerryman had the upper hand with his team-mates looking to find him at every opportunity. Meanwhile, Jack Carty was forced to withdraw through injury on 12 minutes with Bernard Carthy coming on to replace him. Gradually Roscommon began to take control of the game, especially around midfield where Cathal Shine was lording it, fielding numerous kick-outs. On 19 minutes he caught one such kick-out before embarking on a solo run and pointing off the outside of the right. But as the Roscommon wides began to mount up, Kerry showed their prowess on the counter-attack. A swift move involving O'Connor and Donal O'Sullivan saw Niall O'Shea with a glorious opportunity to raise a green flag. But out came Naas Connaughton again to block the ball and begin a Roscommon move that would end up with Bernard Carthy tapping over a point to level things up once again. But back came Kerry and their two-point advantage was opened up once more after points from full-forward Damien Kelly and another from Eanna O'Connor. Roscommon continued to dominate both possession and midfield, but wastefulness in front of goal looked like it was going to cost them in the end. By the time Colin Compton had curled over his first of the day on 29 minutes, Roscommon had registered nine wides to Kerry's two. Before the half ended there was still time for a Roscommon goal chance when Scott Oates transferred the ball to Kilroy who skipped inside his man but saw his shot saved by Paul O'Sullivan in the Kerry goal. Despite Roscommon's wastefulness, they still went in at half-time only one point down and very much in contention. But the second-half began in cruel fashion for Gary Wynne's men, when a long ball deep into Roscommon territory bounced over Ciaran Cafferkey's head and into the grateful arms of Mark Reen who rounded Connaughton and finished coolly to the empty net. And when Donal O'Sullivan landed a further Kerry score on 38 minutes, it looked as though the Kingdom might just pull away. But no, back came Roscommon once again in a superb show of spirit that saw them register the next six points without reply in a 12-minute spell to take a thoroughly deserved, if unexpected, lead with just nine minutes to go. Could they hold on? Well, it looked as though the gods were finally on their side on 51 minutes when Eanna O'Connor, of all people, collected the ball in behind the Roscommon defence before rounding the 'keeper but shooting into the side-netting. But Roscommon's luck appeared to have run out two minutes later when Niall O'Shea was unceremoniously dragged down inside the penalty area, with referee Gary McCormack showing no hesitation in awarding the penalty which O'Shea, having dusted himself down, stepped up to drill home to the bottom corner to hand Kerry back the lead. Substitute Jamie O'Sullivan edged Kerry closer to the finish-line with a point on 54 minutes and although Kilroy got one back for Roscommon on 59 minutes, it looked all but over when the announcement was made that there would be just one minute of additional-time. Then came possibly the moment of the year at any level from a Roscommon point of view. Daniel Qualter lofted a high ball into the full forward-line where just Cathal Shine and Philip Galvin waited for the ball to drop. Once it did, Shine got his hands to the ball before shrugging aside Galvin and placing the ball beautifully, and dramatically to the top-corner with literally the last kick of the game. Extra-time would be required. The first-half of extra-time was evenly matched with Jamie O'Sullivan landing the odd point in five to give the Kingdom a slender one-point lead at the turnaround. But two points from substitute Ciaran Murtagh upon resumption saw the lead swing back Roscommon's way with just 6 minutes left on the clock. Kieran Hurley equalised with five to go before Kerry finally struck the knockout blow two minutes later when a long ball over the top was collected in behind by Hurley, who this time gave Connaughton no chance, finishing low to the net. Clabby replied straight away for Roscommon down the other end but points from Greg Gibson and Eanna O'Connor, back on having been taken off through injury, was enough to see Kerry through to the victory. Both teams received a standing ovation from all supporters after the match - a fitting end to an epic contest. SCORERS - Kerry: Eanna O'Connor (0-4, 2f), Mark Reen (1-1), Kieran Hurley (1-1), Donal O'Sullivan (0-2), Jamie O'Sullivan (0-2), Greg Gibson (0-1), Shane Carroll (0-1), Damien Kelly (0-1), Ian Galvin (0-1). Roscommon: Niall Kilroy (0-4), Cathal Shine (1-1), Daniel Qualter (0-3, 1f), Darren Clabby (0-2), Ciaran Murtagh (0-2), Shane Leydon (0-1), Scott Oates (0-1), Colin Compton (0-1), Bernard Carthy (0-1), Aaron Feehily (0-1). KERRY: Paul O'Sullivan, Matthew Galvin, Philip Galvin, Niall Fitzgerald, Greg Gibson, James Coffey, Danny Wren, Shane Carroll, Michael Brennan, Niall O'Shea, Jack Sherwood, Donal O'Sullivan, Mark Reen, Damien Kelly, Eanna O'Connor. SUBS: Mark Griffin for D. Wren (35 mins), Jamie O'Sullivan for D. Kelly (38), Ian Galvin for M. Reen (53), Kieran Hurley for E. O'Connor (54), Max Thiemann for D. O'Sullivan (56). EXTRA-TIME SUBS: James Walsh for M. Brennan (9), Jack Sherwood for M. Griffin (HT), Eanna O'Connor for N. O'Shea (19). ROSCOMMON: Naas Connaughton, Paddy Brogan, David Butler, Ciaran Cafferkey, Padraic Feeney, Niall Daly, Diarmuid Connellan, Daniel Qualter, Sonny McNulty, Jack Carty, Shane Leydon, Scott Oates, Niall Kilroy, Cathal Shine, Colin Compton. SUBS: Bernard Carthy for J. Carty (12 mins), Aaron Feehily for C. Compton (44), Kieran Donoghue for B. Carthy (54), Darren Clabby for S. Oates (58) EXTRA-TIME SUBS: Ciaran Murtagh for A. Feehily (7), Michael Sweeney for P. Feeney (HT), Scott Oates for S. Leydon (20). REFEREE: Gary McCormack (Dublin).