The Corrigan brothers, Tomás and Ruairi, were to the fore for Kinawley as they opened their championship account with victory over Roslea on Saturday evening.

The game was in the balance at half time with only a point dividing the sides but Kinawley pulled away in the second half to finish up five-point victors.

Central to the win for the Brian Borus were the Corrigan siblings as they accounted for 1-09 of their tally, with Ruairi bagging the goal in the first half.

Kinawley selector Barry Maguire said they were delighted to come away with the win.

“That was the target, to win the first game, so we are happy enough with that.

“It took us a while to get up to the pitch of it in the first half but we were pleased enough with how the second half went for us,” he said.

Ederney provide the opposition for Kinawley this weekend and Maguire expects the St. Joseph’s side will be looking for a reaction after they lost their opener to Enniskillen.

“They will be looking to win their home game and get points on the board after losing last week, so we know that it is going to be difficult. We are expecting another very tough game, especially away from home,” he added.

Acknowledged

Roslea Manager Eamonn Kavanagh acknowledged that Kinawley merited their win on the night.

“I felt that one or two of their inside forwards caused us problems. We competed well enough but if the truth be told they were that wee bit better and they deserved to win.

“It was disappointing because I felt at half time that we were causing them as many problems as they were causing us,” he said.

Next up for Roslea is a home clash against Enniskillen, and Kavanagh knows his side will face a stern examination with the Gaels having defeated Ederney in their opening game.

“Enniskillen are probably one of the teams that are looking at winning a championship over the next few years so it is going to be a tough test.

“They beat us in the league but we will give it our best and see where it takes us,” stated the Shamrocks Manager.

The opening spell on Saturday night was evenly contested as the sides traded points. Brendan Sherlock and Seamus Quigley were on target for Roslea while Kinawley replied with two Tomás Corrigan points.

The home side edged ahead as Corrigan fired over his third point after good play from Paddy McGovern while Lorcan McKenna then drilled over a ’45 after Shamrocks goalkeeper Danny Mohan had turned an Aaron Tierney effort around the post with an outstretched foot.

Roslea were able to stay in touch with Seamus Quigley knocking over a free and a mark to level things at 0-04 apiece, but this was followed by the key score of the half as Ruairi Corrigan skipped his way through the Roslea defence before planting a shot to the back of the net.

When Sean McManus quickly followed up with a converted mark, the Kinawley lead was cut to four points but Roslea had the better of the exchanges over the last ten minutes of the half as they hit four of the last five points to leave one in it at the interval.

Notched points

James McMahon and Sean Quigley notched points while Seamus Quigley hit a brace to leave it 1-06 to 0-08 at the interval.

However, Kinawley gained a control on matters in the second half and Tomás Corrigan knocked over a point from a free and a mark to put three between the sides.

Roslea did have a goal chance when Conor Quigley got through but he fired wide and Kinawley went down the other end for Ruairi Corrigan to pop over as they extended their advantage to four as the game entered the final quarter.

Seamus Quigley and Ruairi Corrigan then exchanged points before a further Quigley score left Roslea in touch as the contest moved into the final ten minutes.

But, Kinawley were able to see out the game with Tomás Corrigan and Liam Owens knocking over late points to seal a 1-12 to 0-10 victory.