Mayo survived a late scare to retain the Cadburys Connacht under 21 football title at Roscommon's expense in Kiltoom on Wednesday night. Mayo.....1-14 Roscommon.0-14 Following the county's recent poor run of results at senior level which culminated in John Maughan's controversial resignation last week, Roscommon were desperate for a morale-boosting victory, and they almost forced extra-time when senior star Cathal Cregg was unlucky to see his powerful shot strike the crossbar in the fourth minute of injury-time. It was another bitterly disappointing defeat for Roscommon fans who had placed so much hope in this team which was dominated by players from their 2006 All-Ireland winning minor side. Favoured by the breeze in the first half, Mayo - seeking a third provincial crown on the bounce - were completely in control and were not flattered by their 1-6 to 0-4 interval lead. However, there was a touch of fortune about their goal which came in the 15th minute when Mikey Sweeney made the slightest connection to an Aidan Campbell free to divert the ball past Roscommon goalkeeper James Martin. Roscommon resumed in positive fashion with points from Donie Shine (two) and substitute Paul Garvey. But their comeback hopes were dealt a crushing blow when Shine drove his 52nd penalty over the bar. They did battle on with points from Cregg, Garvey and Robert Gaynor, but scores from Aidan Campbell and Jason Doherty at the opposite end gave Mayo the breathing space they needed. Mayo - S Nallen; D Vaughan 0-1, G Cafferkey, C English; C Barrett, T Cunniffe, J Burke 0-1; S O'Shea, T Parsons 0-1; A Campbell 0-7, B Gallagher, K Sweeney; M Sweeney 1-1, J Doherty 0-2, M Rafter. Subs - P O'Connor 0-1 for M Rafter, D O'Connor for C English, N Douglas for B Gallagher, T Gavin for P O'Connor. Roscommon - J Martin; S Ormsby, P Domican, R Brady; N Carthy, D Keenan, C Garvey; M Killalea, J McDermott; D O'Gara, C Cregg 0-1, K Higgins 0-1; R Gaynor 0-3, E Kenny, D Shine 0-6. Subs - J McKeague for C Garvey, P Garvey 0-2 for D O'Gara, D Flynn for J McDermott, C McHugh for E Kenny. Ref - P McGovern (Galway) Tweet

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