Roscommon 1-21

Leitrim 0-11

Leitrim finished with 12 men as Roscommon bounced back from their scare in New York with a comfortable win at Pairc Sean MacDiarmada in this Connacht SFC quarter-final.

The Rossies started slowly but once they got in front, they took charge and indiscipline cost the hosts in the second-half as Darren Sweeney (straight red), Adrian Croal (black) and Killian McGrisken (second yellow) all got their marching orders.

Before a crowd of 8,157, Leitrim began promisingly, with Donal Wyrnn opening the scoring from their first attack.

Shane Ward's men kept things tight for the first 10 minutes but once the visitors grabbed their first score from the lively Diarmuid Murtagh, the floodgates opened and four points in five minutes from Cathal Cregg, Niall Daly, Donie Shine and Diarmuid Murtagh again made it 0-5 to 0-1 on the quarter-hour mark.

The hosts responded with well-taken scores from Kevin Conlan and go-to man Emlyn Mulligan and although Ciaran Murtagh (free) and Conlan traded scores to leave it 0-6 to 0-4 with seven minutes remaining in the half, Roscommon piled on the pressure before the break.

A goal from Conor Devaney was followed by points from Niall Daly, Shine (two, one free), Devaney and Ciaran Murtagh to open a 1-11 to 0-4 gap.

Leitrim had the final say in the first-half, debutant Nevin O'Donnell - a former Ulster minor and U21 medallist with Cavan - pointing a free but the 7/1 underdogs faced an uphill task after the break as they went in trailing by 1-11 to 0-5.

Ward's charges rallied at the start of the second-half, Mulligan (free) and Croal pulling back points but Roscommon - who missed a number of scoreable frees - were always able to keep their neighbours at arm's length.

Fintan Cregg landed the first of his four second-half points to get the scoreboard ticking over again and although Conlan hit back for Leitrim, once Cathal Cregg pointed and Sweeney saw red, there was no way back for Leitrim.

Two Cregg points, one after a well-worked short 45, sandwiched a Keelan McHugh effort. Cregg and Cathal McHugh were on the mark again to make it 1-16 to 0-10 and the Kevin McStay/Fergal O'Donnell-managed Rossies pulled further clear with a brace from Ronan Daly.

Mulligan pulled one back for the home side but Ciaran Murtagh had the final say as Roscommon deservedly marched on to meet Sligo in the last four.

Roscommon - G Claffey; N McInerney, N Collins, S McDermott; J McManus, S Purcell, D Murray; N Daly (0-2), J McDermott; F Cregg (0-4, 1f), C Murtagh (0-3, 1f), C Devaney (1-1); D Murtagh (0-2), C Cregg (0-2), D Shine (0-3). Subs: S Kilbride for D Murtagh, R Daly (0-2, 1f) for J McDermott, C McHugh (0-1f) for D Shine, S Mullooly for J McManus, D Keenan for S Purcell, C Shine (0-1) for C Cregg.

Leitrim - B Flynn; M Murphy, P Maguire, M McWeeney; S McWeeney, G Reynolds, R Gallagher; D Wrynn (0-1), S Moran; J Rooney, E Mulligan (0-3, 1f), K Conlan (0-3); N O'Donnell (0-1), R Kennedy (0-1f), A Croal (0-1). Subs: K McHugh (0-1) for M Murphy, K McGriskin for R Gallagher, B Prior for G Reynolds (BC), D Sweeney for S McWeeney, C Gaffney for N O'Donnell, N Woods for R Kennedy.

Referee - B Cassidy.

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