Shamrocks blow Belcoo out of the water

Editorial Department • Published 12 Aug 2010 16:00 0 Comments

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Sean Quigley celebrates after firing over a point in the championship clash with Belcoo at Brewster Park on Sunday.<<

Roslea 2-13; Belcoo 0-04;

Roslea put down a big marker on Sunday as they blew away the challenge of league leaders Belcoo at Brewster Park.

This was expected to be the game of the weekend with the top two sides in the league, and the two favourites for the championship, clashing but in the end it turned out to be a non-contest as Roslea bossed the game.

By the finish Peter McGinnity’s side were dominant in all sectors and on this showing will be fancied to put to bed the disappointment of losing last season’s final to Derrygonnelly.

This is a well-organised and well drilled Roslea outfit with every player knowing their job. They work hard, support each other well and have scoring options all over the pitch with eight players in all getting on the scoresheet.

That said, Belcoo were a big disappointment and never showed any of the form that has taken them to the top of the league. Raymond Gallagher’s side had racked up some impressive scores this season but their forwards made little headway against the Roslea defence while they struggled throughout against the Shamrocks at midfield and Roslea seemed to have too many options in attack.

It was though a relatively even opening quarter to the game as both sides tried to work each other out. Roslea kicked over the first point of the game with Liam Lynch, who had a very good first half, driving over the bar after James Sherry had intecepted possession in his own defence.

Belcoo hit right back with Ryan Leonard getting forward from his defensive position to fire over but Roslea were to go on and claim the first major score of the game in the seventh minute.

Liam Lynch collected the ball on the right and his high lofted ball towards goal was contested by Roslea’s Seamus Quigley and full back Mark McGovern with McGovern having the misfortune of directing the ball into his own net.

Belcoo though continued to hold their own with Ciaran Flaherty tapping over a free after Kieran Leonard was taken down. Roslea though started to get the upperhand in the latter stages of the half with their midfield pairing of James Sherry and Kevin Cosgrove becoming increasingly dominant.

Seamus Quigley converted a free to make it 1-02 to 0-02 but Belcoo had a goal chance that they failed to take when Paul McGrath got his hand to a ball that was played across the goal but it was cleared away and Roslea went on to tag on another couple of points before the interval. Liam Lynch skipped past Ryan Leonard before fisting over and Seamus Quigley clipped over a free from the right.

Indeed it could have been worse for Belcoo as Sean Quigley got on the end of a high ball and shot at goal but it was a tame effort that waas easily collected by goalkeeper James McGrath.

Belcoo had a great opportunity to get right back in the game at the start of the second half when a long ball dropped invitingly for Brian Cox but he palmed the ball off the crossbar when he should possibly have found the back of the net.

Flaherty did notch a super point from the right to reduce the arrears to four, but this was as good as it got for Belcoo as Roslea took over. Five points in as many minutes put Roslea into a commanding position and from this to the end there was never any doubt about the outcome.

Captain James Sherry banged over their first score of the half and this was followed by a huge free from Seamus Quigley. Half back Conor Quigley, who caused all sorts of difficulties for Belcoo with his willingness to drive forward, fired over a good point and Sean Quigley then rifled over two excellent scores to make it 1-09 to 0-03.

Flaherty did convert a free for Belcoo in reponse but at this stage Roslea were rampant with Belcoo having given up the ghost. Niall Cosgrove, Peter Lynch, Kevin Cosgrove and a majestic point from Seamus Quigley saw Roslea push on into a 1-13 to 0-04 lead before Seamus Quigley wrapped up the scoring in the 49th minute. Sean Quigley dispossessed a Belcoo defender and laid off the ball to brother Seamus. His original effort was saved by McGrath but the ball rebounded out to the full forward and he finished soccer style to the back of the net.

A comfortable win then for Roslea and one that marks them down as the team to watch as the championship reaches the quarter-final stage. However, McGinnity will be very aware that there is still a lot of football to be played before any silverware is handed out and if they are to achieve the goal of lifting the New York Cup then they can not afford to let their performance dip.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 12 Aug 10

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