Late Longford point earns draw against Roscommon

A pointed free from Sean McCormack, two minutes into injury time of this Allianz FL Division 4 opener at Pearse Park, gave Longford a deserved share of the spoils against Roscommon on Sunday last. It was never going to be a straightforward assignment for Fergal O'Donnell's charges when crossing the Shannon to meet their old rivals. Local derbies have an uncanny knack of throwing up many an upset, and while the first half of this latest meeting of one-time constituency allies looked to be going according to plan for the Primrose and Blue, the second moiety was a different kettle of fish entirely. Despite easing their reliable centre-back Enda Williams at half-time due to injury and having to replace their goalie Damien Sheridan nine minutes after the resumption, Glen Ryan's men laid siege to the Roscommon goal, with only their wayward marksmanship depriving them of certain scores. Their three-point interval deficit was wiped out by a brilliant 48th minute Paul Barden goal which, combined with a Sean McCormack point, catapulted them into the lead at a critical stage. Roscommon, through sub Cathal Shine equalised after a barren 21-minute scoring spell, and the Connacht side regained the lead late on. Ultimately, however, they had to settle for a share of the two points on offer, at the close of Pearse Park business. Despite the incessant rain of previous days, Pearse Park was in splendid condition for this opening round tie. Weather conditions were thankfully dry, if somewhat on the cold side, for the thousand or so spectators present. Both teams lined out exactly as selected on the match programme, but the loss of the two side's scoring specialists - Roscommon's Donal Shine (injured) and Longford's Brian Kavanagh (club tied ahead of Kilmacud Crokes' All-Ireland semi-final) - inevitably deprived each county of forward power, while Roscommon were also missing their St Brigid's contingent. Exchanges, as befits this time of year, were scrappy and error-ridden for much of the contest. Longford were first to get on the scoreboard when a foul on Sean McCormack saw the Emmet â€g corner-forward convert the resultant free himself (third minute). It didn't take Roscommon long to settle into their rhythm. Paul Garvey placed midfielder Kevin Higgins for a 6th minute equaliser, and the big Roscommon contingent were on song four minutes later when Paul Garvey started a move, continued by Conor Devaney, onwards to Ger Heneghan which saw the Castlerea St Kevin's sharpshooter send over a peach of a point. A John Rogers pointed free followed, while the Longford attack was being thwarted by a Roscommon defence, splendidly marshalled by the outstanding Sean McDermott at corner-back, while the half line of Niall Carty, David Keenan and Sean Purcell were pushing forward at every opportunity. Evidence of the latter was ideally illustrated on 15 minutes when, Purcell linked up with his wing-back colleague Carty, for the Padraig Pearses clubman to bisect the uprights. Roscommon, therefore, had eased into an 0-4 to 0-1 lead and while Longford midfielder Bernard McElvanney pointed a free for the home team's first score in 15 minutes, Roscommon responded promptly when John Rogers punished a foul on Cathal Cregg. A mini Longford revival, inspired in the main by emerging power-broker Paul Barden, bore dividends with their first points from play of the game. A Barden pass to Sean McCormack (26th minute) brought a fine score from the latter, while midfielder McElvanney turned provider for the other Barden brother, David, to land another splendid effort within a minute. However, this was but a cameo of Longford power play in a half where Roscommon were, for the most part, in control, and further points by corner-back Stephen Ormsby (wandering far from his allotted berth) and a third John Rogers free left the Rossies 0-7 to 0-4 in front at referee Jerome Henry's short whistle, on a day when wind was not a factor. Longford shipped the half-time loss of centre back Enda Williams with goalie Damien Sheridan also forced off within minutes of the restart. Notwithstanding these setbacks, Glenn Ryan's men re-emerged a driven unit. Seizing the initiative, they went on to dominate exchanges in most sectors, but poor marksmanship threatened to cost them dearly. David Barden's pinpoint pass found Sean McCormack inside with only the goalie to beat, but his shot went over the bar, a fact not registered by a less then diligent umpire until the referee intervened. Things got even better for Longford when a sideline free from McCormack was seized in mid-air by Paul Barden, who unleashed an unstoppable shot to the Roscommon net to give his side the lead (1-5 to 0-7). Were Longford, as they did last year in the All-Ireland qualifiers against Mayo, about to perform another giant-killing act against Connacht opposition? But having gone 21 minutes without scoring, Roscommon equalised when Ger Heneghan placed super-sub Cathal Shine, who had played so well on the previous Sunday against GMIT in the FBD League. Longford Slashers' Dermot Brady made a pair of excellent interceptions to prevent further Roscommon scores, and a foul on McElvanney enabled McCormack to land another pointed free. After Cathal Shine drew another foul, John Rogers was again on target from the resultant free and with Longford frittering away more scorable opportunities, Roscommon broke upfield and centre-back David Keenan placed Ger Heneghan for a fabulous point, to again secure the lead.As the clock ticked down, both sides missed chances of scores, but in injury time, midfielder Bernard McElvanney was fouled out on the stand side, and Sean McCormack became the Longford hero when unerringly pointing the resultant free for the equaliser. Ger Heneghan had a late, late chance of a Roscommon winner, but his long range effort drifted wide, and so it was a division of the points at full time. Roscommon, having enjoyed the lion's share of possession in the first half, were subject to intense second-half pressure which almost proved a mortal blow. Their defence was seen to best effect in the first half when Sean McDermott and the half-back trio held sway, while Michael Finneran and Kevin Higgins won good possession at midfield. In an attack where only one starting forward (Ger Heneghan) scored from play, John Rogers was accurate from frees while Cathal Shine impressed when introduced, but a greater return is a must in this department for future games. Longford started slowly but certainly were a transformed squad in the second half, when they had enough chances to win the game. Their best players were Dermot Brady, Declan Reilly, Peter Foy, Bernard McElvanney, Paul and David Barden and Sean McCormack. ROSCOMMON: Mark Miley, Sean McDermott, Donal Ward, Stephen Ormsby (0-1), Niall Carty (0-1), David Keenan, Sean Purcell, Michael Finneran, Kevin Higgins (0-1), David O'Gara, Conor Devaney, Cathal Cregg, John Rogers (0-4, 4f), Paul Garvey, Ger Heneghan (0-2). Subs: Senan O'Grady for Devaney (44), Cathal Shine (0-1) for Garvey (52), Fintan Cregg for O'Gara (73). LONGFORD: Damien Sheridan, Dermot Brady, Barry Gilleran, Declan Reilly, Shane Mulligan, Enda Williams, Peter Foy, Kevin Diffley, Bernard McElvanney (0-1f), Paul Barden (1-0), Donal McElligott, David Barden (0-1), Noel Farrell, Paddy Dowd, Sean McCormack (0-5, 3f). Subs: Martin Brady for Williams (inj., H/T), James McKenna for Sheridan (inj., 42), Niall Mulligan for Farrell (51). REFEREE: Jerome Henry (Mayo).