Roscommon 2-14 Mayo 0-13
By Daragh Small
John Coyne played the impact sub role perfectly for Roscommon hurlers as he shot 2-3 off the bench in their win over Mayo at Pearse Stadium.
The victory meant they claimed the Connacht intermediate crown and gained promotion to the Christy Ring Cup for next year.
Coyne got both goals in the second-half after the sides went in 0-7 to 0-7 at half-time with Micheal Kelly the star of last week’s Nicky Rackard win over Armagh once again to the fore.
The sides were level on three occasions in the first-half – Roscommon were playing with the breeze and Cillan got their first.
Fergal Boland finally got Mayo up and running when he received a pass from David Henry and slotted in the in eighth minute.
Both defences were well on top and the opposing centre backs were standout performers, Roscommon captain Micheal Kelly mopped any loose ball in his defence while Padraig O’Flynn did likewise for Mayo.
Kieran McDermott slotted a fine score from distance to give Mayo a 0-4 to 0-2 lead after 15 minutes.
But Jerry Fallon slotted two placed balls to draw the sides level for the second time.
Roscommon then pushed on into a two-point lead but Egan won a penalty on the half-hour, he was dragged down inside the area.
The hero of last weekend, Kelly stepped up but Donal O’Brien saved well to his right.
Kelly did convert the resultant 65 but two points from Kenny Feeney meant the sides went in 0-7 to 0-7 at half-time.
Coyne replaced the influential Fallon at the break but had an immediate impact, he sent over a point after just a minute and then in the 41st minute he showed strength and composure to blast past the hapless O’Brien.
Roscommon raced into a 1-10 to 0-8 lead but as the Mayo contingent filtered in for the second game, the Green and Red began to pick up on the field.
Feeney was their star in this period and by the time he hit his sixth of the day they only trailed by two but Coyne was on a roll and he netted his third with nine minutes left to seal the win.
Teams and scorers:
Scorers – Roscommon: J Coyne 2-3 (0-2fs), J Fallon 0-3 (0-2fs), M Kelly 0-3 (1f, 1 ’65), C Egan 0-1, R O’Meara 0-1, J Moran 0-1, J Kilkenny 0-1, K Kilkenny 0-1
Mayo: K Feeney 0-7 (0-4fs, 1 ’65), F Boland 0-3 (1f), D Kenny 0-1, K McDermott 0-1, C Scahill 0-1
Roscommon: N Fallon; I Delaney, P Kellehan, L Kilcline; D Leonard, M Kelly, T Seale; C Dolan, J Kilkenny; J Moran, R O’Meara, J Fallon; C Egan, K Kilkenny, A Murphy
Subs: J Coyne for Fallon (35 mins), C Kelly for Dolan (48), A Finnerty for Murphy (54), E Flanagan for Moran (65), G Fallon for Delaney (70)
Mayo: D O’Brien; A Brennan, E Collins, B Hunt; K Kiely, P O’Flynn, N Casey; D Kenny, K McDermott; F Boland, A Lyons, K Feeney; S Hoban, C Scahill, S Boland
Subs: S Regan for Boland (40 mins), G Nolan for Lyons (56), S Morley for Casey (65), D Harrison for McDermott (67), F Lyons for Kiely (70)
Referee: Declan O’Driscoll (Limerick).