Roscommon ... 1-12 Cork ... 1-11Roscommon stretched their unbeaten league record at Dr Hyde Park to seven games with this stunning victory over Cork yesterday.
That proud record looked all but shattered when they trailed to the Rebels by seven points five minutes into the second half, but they staged a fierce fight-back before the meagre attendance of 1,500.
A goal from substitute Kieran Lynch, taking advantage of a clever flick from Frankie Dolan and sending a dipping shot to the roof of the Cork net 11 minutes from the end, offered the home side a lifeline they grabbed with both hands.
That goal left them trailing by two points, 1-10 to 1-8, and points from Dolan, his fourth in all, Gerry Lohan, Gary Cox and Lynch secured the win for Roscommon.
It was a win that looked highly unlikely three minutes into the second half when Micheál Ó Croinín, taking a return pass from Fionnán Murray, crashed the ball past Shane Curran to send Cork into a 1-9 to 0-6 lead.
Two minutes later Brendan Jer O'Sullivan added a point, but Cork had to wait another 31 minutes before they troubled the scoreboard again when O'Sullivan kicked the final point of the game.
That barren period proved fatal for Cork although they might have taken something from this game had not John Miskella spurned a clear goal chance four minutes from the end, driving the ball wide with only Curran to beat.
Cork had looked good early on, storming into a 0-7 to 0-1 lead after 20 minutes with Nicholas Murphy and Bernie Collins dominant at midfield, while Ó Croinín was proving a handful for the Roscommon defence.
The game changed when Tommy Carr introduced big midfielder Seamus O'Neill after 23 minutes, heralding a Roscommon purple patch that saw them cut the deficit to a single point, 0-7 to 0-6, after 33 minutes.
Cork, aided by a strong wind, finished the first half with a flourish with points from Kieran Murphy and Ó Croinín, but they failed to maintain that momentum.
Cork manager Larry Tompkins was disgusted with his side's performance.
"There are no positives that we can take from that. We were in control and we let it slip," he said.
Carr was understandably delighted with his team's win, coming as it did just a week after their 13-point mauling by Kerry."What mattered today was the performance more than the result," he said. In the end he got both.
ROSCOMMON: S Curran, J Whyte, D Casey, A Carbury, A McPadden, F Grehan, J Nolan, K Mannion, B Higgins (0-1), R Cox, S Lohan, G Cox (0-2), N Dineen (0-1), G Lohan (0-3, 2 frees), F Dolan (0-4). Subs: S O'Neill for Carbury (23 mins); K Lynch (1-1) for R Cox (48 mins).
CORK: K O'Dwyer, N O'Donovan, A O'Connor, A Lynch, E Sexton, G Canty, N O'Leary (0-1), N Murphy, B Collins, BJ O'Sullivan (0-3), M Ó Croinín (1-5, 3 frees), P Kissane, K Murphy (0-1), F Murray (0-1), C Crowley. Subs: J O'Donoghue for Kissane (34 mins); D O'Sullivan for Crowley (h-t); J Miskella for Sexton (53 mins); C McCarthy for K Murphy (56 mins); J O'Shea for O'Donoghue (67 mins).
Referee: C Broderick (Down).
