Roscommon 1-12 Cavan 0-13
In his acceptance speech after receiving the Division 2 cup following this match, Roscommon captain Enda Smith mentioned that his side and Cavan seem to renew rivalries “once or twice a year”.
What the midfielder omitted was that in 11 meetings going back to 2012, Cavan have been successful just twice and that familiar mournful tune played again here for the hosts as they suffered relegation to Division 3 just a week out from a daunting championship opener against Monaghan in Clones.
Cavan will point to their 16 wides here as proof that they should have taken something from the game but in truth, Roscommon were better in almost every department. They led most of the way, crowding the Breffni defence and breaking impressively, with the majestic Donie Smith putting the finishing touches on several of their best moves.
By the time the first water break arrived, the sides were deadlocked at 0-3 apiece. Cavan were playing with a strong wind in the first half and their four scores - from Martin Reilly, Chris Conroy and rookie Cormac O'Reilly (son of former great Damien) were all high-quality efforts but therein told a tale.
Mickey Graham's men were reduced to pot shots as they struggled to break Roscommon down. Donie Smith landed five points in the first half and was denied a goal by a terrific Ray Galligan save as the away side, who were missing 13 of their panel and manager Anthony Cunningham due to a Covid-19 scare, went in 0-7 to 0-4 ahead at half-time.
They extended that lead to four on the restart with a quick point from Ciarain Murtagh and although Cavan hit back through Gearoid McKiernan, Murtagh and Cathal Cregg registered to make it double scores, 0-10 to 0-5.
Substitute Oisin Pierson knocked over a free and then Cavan strung together their best move of the match, with Luke Fortune finishing it with a point to leave three between them.
But Roscommon’s response was immediate as they exploited a mix-up at midfield by Cavan and streamed forward, with Enda Smith arriving late to palm to the net.
With substitute Thomas Galligan making a difference on kick-outs, Cavan upped their game and pulled back three good points, two from Ciaran Brady and one for Kiernan.
But Roscommon always seemed to be able to find space at the other end and the excellent Donie Smith curled in a beautiful score to get them going again.
Ray Galligan and Pierson added frees for Cavan but Donie Smith curled in another high-quality score. Cavan pressed hard but Roscommon didn’t look like wobbling, with one half-decent goal chance falling to Stephen Smith after he came off the bench, but it produced nothing.
All Cavan could muster was a James Smith point, with a succession of poor shots and weak execution of skills costing them dearly in the closing stages.
Cavan: Raymond Galligan (0-1 free), Jason McLoughlin, Killian Brady, Killian Clarke, Gerard Smith, Chris Conroy (0-1), Ciaran Brady (0-2), Gearoid McKiernan (0-1), Padraig Faulkner, Oisin Kiernan (0-1), Martin Reilly (0-1), Cormac O'Reilly (0-2), James Smith (0-1), Conor Madden, Niall Murray.
Subs: Oisin Pierson (0-2 frees) for Murray (29 mins), Luke Fortune (0-1) for K Brady (h-t), Stephen Smith for Conroy (42mins), Thomas Galligan for Madden (47 mins), Oisin Brady for C O’Reilly (60 mins).
Roscommon: Colm Lavin, Fergal Lennon, Sean Mullooly, David Neary, Padraig Scott, Cathal Cregg (0-1), Conor Devaney, Enda Smith (1-0), Tadhg O'Rourke, Niall Kilroy, Cian McKeon, Finbar Cregg (0-1), Donie Smith (0-7, 0-3 frees, 0-1 45), Diarmuid Murtagh (0-1), Ciarain Murtagh (0-2, 0-1 free).
Subs: Hubert Darcy for F Cregg (45 mins), Ultan Harney for McKeon (47 mins), Henry Walsh for Devaney (47 mins), Andrew Glennon for D Murtagh (60 mins), Jack Casey for C Cregg (68 mins).
