ACFL - DIVISION ONE
Rossa 0-18
St Paul's 2-7
At Rossa Páirc
IN a game that defined the term "a game of two halves", it would be hosts who would clinch the spoils and bragging rights on the Shaws Road as Rossa overcame a first half deficit to defeat neighbours St Paul's on Wednesday evening.
The away side raced into an early lead and despite their healthy lead of six at the break, the return of Thomas Morgan and Dominic McEnhill from inter-county duty would prove the difference as the second period unfolded.
St Paul's got off to a brilliant start when Caoimhín Duffy curled a cute effort between the posts for an early white flag inside the game's opening minute but Rossa soon replied from Colm Fleming who dipped his effort over the black spot to level the game early on.
The away side would find their opening major when Conall Duffy's sensational pass found Niall McKenna unmarked on the edge of the box and with only Mick Byrne to beat the St Paul's half-back slotted his effort underneath the Rossa keeper.
Duffy found his second score from a free before eventually striking an unbelievable effort for a second goal for the men in red and white hoops.
Mick Byrne's free-out was intercepted and Duffy seized an opportunity to thump a long-ranged effort, catching out the Rossa net minder and making it 2-2 to a single score on the quarter of an hour mark.
The game fell into a lull as both sides proceeded to strike wides before Colm Fleming's free five minutes before the break broke the 11 minute scoreless spell.
Lorcan Phillips soon replied for St Paul's, extending their lead once more, but the Jeremiah's would end the half on the stronger footing with another score as Ruairi McDonagh got his score as the whistle blew with St Paul's leading by their two goal margin.
Half-time substitutions from Rossa completely flipped the script. The returning Dominic McEnhill and Thomas Morgan were key, not only in instrumenting the attacks but to help influence improved performances from their team mates and it showed instantly when Eoin McMenamin, Ruairi McDonagh and Colm Fleming all saw efforts matched with raised flags inside the first five minutes, and St Paul's looked to be bending.
Stephen Beatty's terrific strike got them within two points and McEnhill floated over a close-range free to bring the tie to within the minimum inside just ten minutes of play from the resumption.
Rossa clinched the spoils in the Shaws Road derby
St Paul's began to look desperate to break the momentum, but Rossa upped the gears and began to motor with real purpose and eventually they would take the lead when Mick Byrne launched a two-pointer from a free to edge his side in front whilst in the process Micéal Duffy was shown a black-card for leading with the elbow prior to the free.
Another couple of scores from Beatty and Byrne gave the home fans a real sense of belief and St Paul's, a man down and now staring down the barrel of a defeat, looked to be waning.
They did show some resilience and eventually hit back with James Farrell's short ranged effort finding a way through the posts for a white flag.
But the man advantage proved to be beneficial and Rossa dominated possession and took scores where necessary to further themselves ahead with Thomas Morgan getting his first just inside the arc, before Conor McDonnell also thumped a score from a tight angle.
Duffy would get another score courtesy of a free on the 13-yard line and followed it up with another point from a dead ball, but Rossa's Thomas Morgan and Stephen Beattie rounded off the scoring on the evening.
Rossa looked to have a chance to deny Lorcan Murphy a clean sheet following a penalty being awarded and Oran Stevenson's foul on Morgan resulted in another black card for the away side. Colm Fleming stepped up and was unfortunate as his effort smashed the inside of the post before falling to Duffy who cleared the ball.
The referee's whistle sounded and a comfortable victory for Rossa was the result in the end, a reverse of the previous meeting between the two last season.
Rossa: M Byrne 0-3 (1xTPf, 0-1f); M McKernan, P Moyes, J McGurk; P Byrne, S Beatty 0-4, N Crossan; O McVicker, D Morgan; C Walsh, E McMenamin 0-1, D Rogan 0-1; C Fleming 0-3 (0-1f), E Fleming, R McDonagh 0-2
Subs: D McEnhill 0-1f, C McDonnell 0-1, T Morgan 0-2
St Pauls: L Higgins; A Kavanagh, E McGreevy, M Duffy; C McCann, M Munce, N McKenna 1-0; J Farrell 0-1, C Hughes; C Burke, C Duffy 1-5 (0-5f), L Phillips 0-1; S Burns, P Crawford, C Duffy
Subs: C Killyleagh, O Stevenson, C Finnegan, L Murphy
Referee: Colm McDonald
