Kilbride leads way for impressive Roscommon side

Roscommon 1-16

Wexford 1-9

John Evans vowed that Roscommon wouldn’t be getting “carried away” despite a fine performance against Wexford at Kiltoom.

The Rossies were comfortable seven-point winners to ensure they made the perfect start to Division 3 with two wins from their opening two games.

“It was a tough deal to be hit with Longford and Wexford in the first two games. Now those games are over and we have to look for another two points somewhere else. We’re not going to get carried away with ourselves. We’re going to keep our feet firmly on the ground and work extremely hard for our next two points,” vowed Evans.

Roscommon made a blistering start to leave their opponents shell-shocked in the opening 15 minutes. Ciaran Cafferky and Ben Brosnan swapped early points but Roscommon went on to hit 1-5 without reply.

The goal arrived in the ninth minute when Donal Shine’s effort for a point cannoned back off the post and Senan Kilbride showed his alertness to grab the rebound and fire the ball past Shane Roche.

Wexford hauled themselves back into contention, mainly due to Tiernan Rossitor’s 23rd minute goal. But Roscommon tagged on the final two scores of the half from substitute Enda Smith and Kevin Higgins to enjoy a 1-8 to 1-3 advantage.

Wexford had a strong wind behind them in the second half but they made little impression against a tenacious Roscommon outfit.

Points from Colm Kehoe, Rossitor and Cillian Kehoe did erode the deficit to three points at one stage. But Roscommon upped the ante once more and Kevin Higgins’ point from play was sandwiched between a pair of frees from Kilbride and Man of the Match Cathal Cregg.

“The FBD League was good for us. It gave time for players to get on the field of play. These lads are so proud to wear the county jersey. Whether it’s the Allianz League or FBD League, they just want to wear it,” concluded Evans.

ROSCOMMON: D O'Malley; N Collins, N Carty, S McDermott; P Brogan, N Daly, C Cafferky (0-1); K Higgins (0-3), C Shine; C Burns, D Shine, C Daly (0-1); S Kilbride (1-4, 0-3 frees), C Cregg (0-5, 0-2 frees), C Murtagh. Subs: E Smith (0-2) for Burns (27 mins), I Kilbride for C Daly (48 mins), D Murtagh for C Murtagh (68 mins), D O'Gara for Cregg (68 mins).
WEXFORD: S Roche; P Kelly, G Molloy, C Carty; B Malone, J Breen, T Rossitor (1-1); D Waters, P Byrne (0-1); B O'Gorman (0-1); M Furlong, Colm Kehoe (0-1); K O'Grady, J Holmes, B Brosnan (0-4, 0-2 frees, 0-1 45). Subs: PJ Banville for O'Gorman (half-time), R Tierney for Kelly (half-time), M O'Regan for Waters (45 mins), Cillian Kehoe (0-1) for Colm Kehoe (48 mins), R Dempsey for Holmes (48 mins), G Cullen for Breen (62 mins).
Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone).