Roscommon...1-09 Leitrim...0-05: Replays have a habit of being chalk to the cheese of the drawn games they follow, something which Leitrim were reminded of by Roscommon at Hyde Park on Saturday in a game that mixed the good, the bad and the indifferent.
Leitrim scored only three points from play and for bad measure had John McKeon sent off late in the game. They also missed a penalty near the end, when Michael Foley shot straight at Roscommon goalkeeper Shane Curran.
Roscommon looked better in most sectors of the field but for all their strengths found it difficult to build a lead and were still level, at 0-2 each, after 20 minutes, when Fintan McBrien pointed.
Frankie Dolan edged Roscommon in front and substitute Jonathan Dunning squeezed in another point before the interval for a fragile lead of 0-4 to 0-3 at half-time.
Whatever about Roscommon's sluggish scoring rate, however, Leitrim's problems in this area were underlined by the 16-minute barren spell between McBrien's point and their next score, Foley's point in the 36th minute.
Yet no sooner had the second half started than Johnny Goldrick grabbed an equalising point to keep Leitrim hopes alive.
John Tiernan, another Roscommon substitute in a much-reshuffled side, restored the lead only for the home side to level again, this time through Foley's pointed 40-yard free.
That 48th-minute Foley point signalled the end of Leitrim's scoring and they were hit crucially a minute later by a great goal by John Hanly.
Hanly proved to be Tom Carr's trump card. His goal was a gem and, fittingly, the move that led to it was started by Stephen Lohan, a Kilbride clubmate of Hanly. Lohan ran deep into the Leitrim cover before switching the ball to Tiernan, and then Francie Grehan got in to supply the scoring pass to Hanly, who gave Gareth Phelan no chance with a searing shot.
Despite the win Carr was not overly impressed by his team's performance and gave his charges a proverbial slap on the wrist by telling them "a goal and nine points would not win a Connacht final and that is the reality".
A concerned Carr, who had watched as his side failed to make full use of good possession, added: "We are only playing to 75 per cent of our ability and we must find that missing 25 per cent going into the final."
ROSCOMMON: S Curran; J Whyte, M Ryan, J Nolan; E Towey, F Grehan, D Casey; S O'Neill, S Lohan; D Connellan, J Hanly (1-1), G Cox (0-2); G Henegan, K Mannion, F Dolan (0-3, two frees). Subs: J Dunning (0-1) for Henegan (25 mins); J Tiernan (0-2) for Connellan (half-time); J Rogers for Casey (49 mins); B Higgins for Cox (68 mins); D O'Connor for Hanly (71 mins).
LEITRIM: G Phelan; D Reynolds, S Quinn, M McGuinness; N Gilbane, J McKeon, B Prior; D Maxwell, C Carroll; J Goldrick (0-1), J Guckian, C Regan; D Brennan, F McBrien (0-1), M Foley (0-3, two frees). Subs: S Canning for Maxwell (half-time); P Farrell for Brennan and D Kennedy for Goldrick (both 58 mins); B Brennnan for McBrien (64 mins).
Referee: J Geaney (Cork).
