Red Hand hurlers fightback to seal Rossies draw

Roscommon 0-20

Tyrone 1-17

TYRONE came from nine points down at half time to pick up a point in the opening round of the National Hurling League on Sunday in Dr Hyde Park.

Roscommon almost contrived to lose a game they were in complete control of. Yes, there was a strong wind blowing directly down the field towards the “graveyard end” of the Hyde but the elements were no excuse for the poverty of Roscommon’s second half performance, particularly in the third quarter, when they allowed Tyrone reel in a nine-point half-time deficit.

Crucially, it took the visitors until injury time to get back on level terms, and they looked to have won it when the lively CJ McGourty pointed on the turn to hand his side the lead for the first time in the contest. But there was one last kick in Roscommon and the opportunity, when it arrived, fell to the right man as Padraig Kelly maintained his composure to grab a draw in the seventh minute of injury time.

The period immediately after half time is often referred to the championship quarter, and for the second time in as many games, Roscommon contrived to throw away a big lead. In the Connacht League final against Sligo, the water break saved them, allowing them to refocus and get back on track.

There was no such reprieve on Sunday but Tyrone’s inability to restore parity until so late in the game saved the home side’s bacon. The Red Hand County had their chances, most notably a free from their star man, Damian Casey that drifted the wrong side of the posts after 53 minutes. If Tyrone had managed to get back on level terms earlier, you would have fancied them to go on and finish the job.

As it was, Roscommon always managed to pick up a few scores to keep their noses in front after they were outscored by 1-6 to 0-1 in the opening 16 minutes of the second half. At that stage, the home side’s composure had deserted them but, to their credit, they managed to hang in there when the going got tough.

Roscommon made the most of the elements early on. They moved possession quickly, and their directness was rewarded with a plethora of eye-catching scores. Cathal Dolan opened the scoring from a free after 47 seconds before they hit the next seven scores on the bounce.

Eoin Fitzgerald was popping up everywhere, and when he picked up a pass from Mickey Joe Egan under the East Terrace, he instinctively sent the sliotar between the posts from an acute angle.

The scores kept coming with Fitzgerald’s second point of the afternoon followed by Mickey Joe Egan’s first when he picked up a loose Tyrone pass and returned the sliotar with interest between the sticks.

Tyrone could gain no traction as Cathal Dolan, after some neat control, was next to find the target. Points from Brendan Mulry, Fitzgerald and Dolan followed before Daniel Glynn got in on the act with his side’s eighth point after 11 minutes.

Tyrone finally broke their duck three minutes later when a foul on full-forward Aidan Kelly resulted in a free for Damian Casey.

Roscommon resumed their scoring spree when Peter Kellehan did brilliantly to dispossess Bryan McGurk, starting a move that ended with Dolan scoring his fourth point of the contest. Egan added another before McGurk skipped around Matthew Comerford and registered his side’s second point of the afternoon.

At this stage, there were tentative signs that Tyrone were beginning to come to grips with their opponents and Noel Fallon did well to snuff out two chances — firstly denying Aidan Kelly, although there was the consolation of a pointed free from Casey as referee Kevin Jordan was playing an advantage, and then snuffing out a second opportunity that fell McGurk’s way.

A third point for Mickey Joe Egan was sandwiched between a couple of Dolan frees, while a couple of frees from Casey left his side trailing by 0-14 to 0-5 at the break.

But the Ulster side made a blistering start to the new half, helped by CJ McGourty firing a low shot past Fallon in the 38th minute.

Panic set in among Roscommon ranks as Casey tucked away four frees, while captain Conor Grogan and midfielder Dermot Begley also found the target from play.

Dolan did manage to add to his tally but, all around the field, Roscommon were now losing all the major collisions. Players, now bereft of composure, started making countless errors. And yet, they always managed to stay ahead with a couple of long-range frees from Dolan supplemented by a much-needed score from Eoghan Costello.

The tit for tat nature of the scoring continued until Casey finally brought the sides level. McGourty looked have won it, only for Kelly to rescue a draw from the jaws of defeat.

But it should never have come to that.