Fallons star for rampant Rossies
Roscommon 3-24 Fingal 1-11
Corner-forwards Gerry Fallon and Gary Fallon were the stars of the show in Rush, where their combined tally of 2-14 helped Roscommon crush Fingal.
Gerry Fallon had 1-3 by the seventh minute, and even though the dependable JM Sheridan initially kept the north Dubliners within touching distance, eight unanswered points in as many minutes (including two apiece for Gerry Fallon, Gary Fallon and former Galway underage star Keith Kilkenny) ensured that the Rossies led 1-14 to 0-6 at half-time.
Eoin O’Connor’s 44th-minute goal did raise hopes of a Fingal revival, but those hopes were quickly dashed.
Subsequent majors by Ronan O’Meara and the exceptional Gary Fallon ensured that Justin Campbell’s charges returned to winning ways in fine style.
Man of the Match: Gerry Fallon (Roscommon)
Scorers – Roscommon: Gerry Fallon 1-8 (0-4fs, 0-1 ’65’), Gary Fallon 1-6 (0-2fs), R O’Meara 1-2, K Kilkenny 0-3, J Kilkenny, C Egan 0-2 each, A Murphy 0-1. Fingal: JM Sheridan 0-8 (6f, 1 ’65’), E O’Connor 1-0, P Graves, C Byrne, C O’Flynn 0-1 each.
Roscommon – N Fallon 7; I Delaney 7, P Kellehan 7, A Moore 7; T Seale 7, M Kelly 8, D Leonard 6; J Kilkenny 8, J Moran 7; C Kelly 6, K Kilkenny 7, D Dolan 6; Gary Fallon 9, R O’Meara 8, Gerry Fallon 9.
Subs: C Egan 7 for Dolan (14), C Shaw 7 for Leonard (29), A Murphy 7 for C Kelly (47), S Kilcommins 6 for Moran (53), H Rooney 6 for Gerry Fallon (57).
Fingal – C Harford 7; P Coyne 6, G Morris 6, A Morris 6; P Sheridan 5, P Quinn 6, R McGarry 7; N Ring 6, P Graves 7; C Byrne 6, D Smyth 6, C O’Flynn 6; D Butterly 6, JM Sheridan 7, E O’Connor 7. Subs: R Sheridan 6 for P Sheridan (19), B Kelly 6 for Coyne (41), J Redmond 6 for Smyth (51), J Smyth 6 for G Morris (55), C Kelly 6 for Byrne (63).
Ref – P Murphy (Carlow).