Sligo 0-11 Roscommon 0-23
A routine victory for Roscommon as they powered their way to victory against 14-man Sligo at a damp Markievicz Park on Saturday evening.
It was the Rossies’ first senior championship win at the Sligo venue since 2004 but a total of 0-18 from play alongside all five substitutes used finding the target demonstrated the ease at which the Division Two champions saw off their hosts.
A third-quarter surge did the trick as Roscommon kicked the first five points in the second half to put sufficient daylight between the sides after leading by four points at the interval.
Patrick O’Connor opened the scoring for Sligo inside 30 seconds, but it was the visitors who generally dominated the opening half.
Conor Cox restored parity with an excellent point off his left foot, but Niall Murphy edged Sligo back in front from a sixth-minute free.
Cox levelled matters from a placed ball before the game's main talking point arrived. Cox landed a 45-metre free before tangling with David Philips, which resulted in a red card for the Sligo defender after referee Noel Mooney consulted with his other officials.
Cox stretched Roscommon’s advantage to two points with a terrific score before Sligo centre back Darragh Cummins ambled upfield and kicked a good score.
But Roscommon began to find more space and eventually made their numerical advantage count. Ciaráin Murtagh, Cox (free), Enda Smith and Eddie Nolan ( a 45) added points before Murtagh was denied a goal by Sligo goalkeeper Aidan Devaney. The St Faithleach's forward did hack the rebound over the bar to leave six points between the teams.
However, Sligo gave themselves some hope with injury-time points from Mark Walsh and Seán Carrabine to trail by four at the break.
Any lingering doubts about the result were put to bed in the third quarter as Roscommon reasserted their superiority. Patience in possession was the key, as was Enda Smith becoming more involved in terms of linking the play.
The Boyle player kicked three points inside the first nine minutes of the new half, while Ciaráin Murtagh and a Donie Smith free pushed the Rossies' lead out to nine points.
Sligo did manage to kick some fine scores through Cummins – his second of the contest – Murphy, substitute Pat Spillane and midfielder Conan Marren.
But the introduction of fresh legs off the bench kept the visitors in the ascendancy as Keith Doyle, with his first touch in senior championship football, bisected the posts. Brian Stack, Conor Daly, Cox and Ciaráin Murtagh also kept the scoreboard ticking over before Niall Kilroy (two), Andrew Glennon and Diarmuid Murtagh found the target to see Roscommon home with plenty to spare.
Pat Hughes and Murphy (free) kicked late scores for Sligo but the gap between the teams was huge, allowing Roscommon to saunter into the provincial final where they will play Galway or Leitrim at the end of May.
SLIGO: A Devaney; D Philips, E Lyons, P McNamara; N Mullen, D Cummins (0-2), M Walsh (0-1); P Kilcoyne, C Marren (0-1); M Gordon, P O'Connor (0-1), K Cawley; A Reilly, N Murphy (0-3, two frees), S Carrabine (0-1).
Subs: P Spillane (0-1) for Reilly, D Quinn for Cawley (both 47 mins), C Griffin for O'Connor (54), P Laffey for Cummins (57), P Hughes (0-1) for Gordon (63 ).
ROSCOMMON: C Lavin; D Murray, B Stack (0-1), E McCormack; C Hussey, N Daly, R Daly; U Harney, E Nolan (0-1, a 45); C Murtagh (0-4), E Smith (0-4), C Heneghan; C McKeon, D Smith (0-1, free), C Cox (0-6, three frees).
Subs: C Daly (0-1) for Murray (46 mins), K Doyle (0-1) for Harney (55), N Kilroy (0-2) for McKeon (56), D Murtagh (0-1) for D Smith (57), A Glennon (0-1) for Hussey (63).
Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).
