Leitrim cruelly condemned by O'Connor's late strike

All-Ireland SFC Qualifier/Roscommon ... 2-09 Leitrim ... 1-11: A vindication of one of the oldest clichés in the book, the one that refers to victory snatched from the rapidly closing jaws of defeat, saw Leitrim cruelly denied a success they would have richly merited at Carrick-on- Shannon on Saturday.

The match had entered the second and final minute of injury time and Tom Carr's team seemed destined for defeat as they trailed by two points. What followed was high drama. Frankie Dolan made the initial probe; the ball was somehow kept out in a crowded goalmouth; Nigel Dineen tried to bury it but his effort knocked off a defender, presenting substitute David O'Connor with his big chance, and he lashed home from close range.

Leitrim were devastated to be pipped after they had fought to the last ounce to push Roscommon to the brink. They had held the lead from the fifth minute of the second half only to be pegged back to parity briefly in the last quarter.

Their goalkeeper, Garret Phelan, had been a candidate for the man of the match following some breathtaking saves but he was red-carded in the wake of the winning goal when out of sheer frustration he tangled with a Roscommon forward.

He was replaced by Enda Lyons, with Colin Regan dropping out of the attack, but there was no time left for a Leitrim recovery, with Armagh referee Brendan Gorman sounding the final whistle on the kick-out.

When told that he looked drained in the media scramble afterwards, Tom Carr retorted: "I look drained because I am drained."

He admitted he was tired after the nerves and anxiety of a nightmare of a match from which he wanted to be awakened.

"We were lucky today," he admitted. "We came here for a result and we are going back with a result but I honestly thought the game was gone from us"

Carr will reassemble his players tomorrow night. "We will have to go over the whole match again and see what went wrong for us and try to find a way to push it further."

A shell-shocked Leitrim manager Declan Rowley claimed his side had been the best on the day.

"The last goal obviously closed the game down at a time when we looked to have won it."

He was happy his team gave a competitive performance and then slammed TV pundits who " talk a lot of rubbish".

"They should come and see these matches," he said.

Leitrim had moved the ball with purpose and precision, although from an early stage they also showed a lack of penetration close to goal. Midfielder Shane Canning's switch with attack leader Séamus Quinn gave impetus to the attack and increased the pressure on the Roscommon half-back line.

Early uncertainty in the Leitrim attack was highlighted when Fintan McBrien was badly off target for an early lead score and Pauric McLoughlin over-carried before placing Donal Brennan for a goal, only for the play to be called back.

By the time Brennan did find the net after excellent play from McBride and Quinn, Roscommon were three points clear and seemingly on the verge of stretching their advantage. The Leitrim goal came as a shock, with Brennan getting the touch, outjumping Shane Curran for McBrien's 40-yard delivery. It meant the scores were level and they were all square again at the interval, 1-4 to 0-7.

Although he finished with six points, McLoughlin was badly at fault in hitting two wides in the opening minutes of the second half. It took a dashing run from wing back by Shane Foley to shoot Leitrim into the lead five minutes after the resumption. That advantage was stretched to two points and later to three by the 20th minute of the second session.

There was fire in Leitrim bellies at this stage and untypical wides from Stephen Lohan and Derek Connellan revealed how rattled Roscommon had become.

Garret Phelan made the first of his big stops from Dolan and Francie Grehan added to the Roscommon agony with another wide.

Wing back Paul Noone provided a good pass for Karl Mannion to strike for a badly needed Roscommon goal 24 minutes into the second half and the sides were level again.

The roller-coaster finish saw Gary Cox shoot wide for Roscommon and McLoughlin then came in on the end of Leitrim's best move to establish a two-point advantage. The underdogs looked safe enough at this stage until O'Connor's goal arrived to break Leitrim hearts.

ROSCOMMON: S Curran; R Cox, D Casey, J Whyte; M Beirne, F Grehan, P Noone; S O'Neill, S Lohan; G Cox, G Lohan (0-1), D Connellan (0-2); J Dunning (0-1), K Mannion (1-1), F Dolan (0-3, 2fs). Subs: E Towey for Beirne (41 mins); N Dineen (0-1) for G Lohan (54 mins); D O'Connor (1-0) for G Cox (68 mins)

LEITRIM: G Phelan; M McGuinness, J McKeon, D Reynolds; N Gilbane, J Phelan, S Foley (0-1); C Carroll (0-1), S Canning (0-1); D Maxwell, S Quinn, C Regan; D Brennan (1-1), F McBrien (0-1), P McLoughlin (0-6, 2fs). Subs: M Duignan for McBrien (61 mins); M Greene for Gilbane (68 mins); T Kelleher for J Phelan (70 mins); E Lyons for C Regan (72 mins)

Referee: B Gorman (Armagh)